Naruto Uzumaki, Nightmare of Konoha
by Gnosismaster
Summary: Within the Scroll of Sealing lies an ancient evil that was sealed away until now. With its awakening, the Nightmare of Konoha is born. NaruSaku
1. Prologue

_**Naruto Uzumaki…Nightmare of Konoha**_

_Takes place during the Mizuki incident_

* * *

Deep within the forest of Konoha, a small boy with unruly blond spiky hair and blue eyes that convey sadness when you look into them and three whisker marks on each cheek stared down a enemy that the boy thought that he was helping him but was really just using him. A chunnin with a big wound on his back and a scar across his nose watched the scene unfold.

"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei, I'll kill you." His opponent laughed.

"Show me what you got, demon brat!" He smirked.

"Oh I'll show you, times a thousand and you will remember that Naruto Uzumaki defeated you!" Naruto brought his hands into a cross seal and shouted. **"Taju Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"** A thousand Naruto's poofed into existence, surprising all watching the spectacle. A Naruto clone cracked his knuckles. "Alright guys, you know what to do." Agreements filled the air and all at once, every single clone rushed toward Mizuki and started to pummel him into oblivion.

Soon after Mizuki was pummeled, Naruto was about to help Iruka up to his feet when the two of them felt Mizuki's chakra signature grow stronger and stronger. Naruto slowly turned around to see Mizuki changed. He looked like a mix between a tiger and man.

"I'm going to kill you for that brat." Mizuki charged Naruto who stood frozen at the feeling of the chakra that Mizuki was putting out.

* * *

Meanwhile, a scroll laid forgotten during the commotion. It was the scroll of sealing that Naruto stole from the Hokage's office under the pretense that he will graduate if he learns a jutsu from it (hence the Kage Bunshin) but near the beginning of the scroll lies a power that was sealed a very long time ago and was forgotten. The power remained undisturbed until now when it felt an evil presence nearby. Now it has awoken and is trying to get to the presence so it can consume the energy and restore its full power. It was time to escape as the power put every last bit of energy it has and broke the seal and escaped its confinement.

* * *

Mizuki froze in his charge when he saw the scroll of sealing burst into flames and something emerged from it. He couldn't tell exactly what it was but he knew that it would be trouble. Renewing his charge toward the frozen child, he closed the distance and delivered a fatal strike to take the head off but something was wrong. He should have felt flesh but he hit metal. Focusing on the sight in front of him, Mizuki staggered back in surprise. What he hit was a sword, but not a normal sword. It was as big as a broadsword if not smaller and had a blade but what's holding the blade is what scared him. It was organic, and it was pulsing and it had a purple eye near where the guard should be but he was surprised at _who_ was wielding it.

Naruto had never been so scared in his life. The chakra he felt from Mizuki was unnatural. His body froze, unwilling to move. He could only watch as Mizuki closed in on him, claws poised to slit his throat. He closed his eyes, waiting for the strike but before it came, he heard a voice.

"_**I must feed."**_

The next thing he knew, he was holding a strange sword which blocked Mizuki's strike. What happened next, he had no control over. He pushed Mizuki back with a strength that he didn't know he had and Mizuki flew backwards. Naruto could feel his legs tensing up for a jump and jump he did. He jumped in the air and turned the sword with the point facing down and stabbed Mizuki who didn't have a chance to react. He could somehow feel the sword drain the energy out of the man that he just stabbed. The sword drained every last of the energy and hungered for more. It turned its attention to its holder and it could feel the massive amounts of evil radiating off of him. Naruto felt the sword turn its attention to him now as it started to drain _him_. Naruto tried to let go but his body wouldn't respond and couldn't do anything until a new voice spoke to him.

"**Kit, take control of this being. Let it know that you are his master and he is your servant. I will help you but you must start the process."**

Naruto, willing to do anything at this point, tried to take control of the invading presence but it resisted. He tried again and this time, felt a new presence, mixing with his will and started to force the presence back. The presence was getting angry at this attempt of resistence and started to put more effort into sapping his strength but with no effect.

"_**How is this possible? No mortal can defy me. Who are you?"**_

"_My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage and vessel to Kyuubi no Yoko. Remember it!"_

"_**The Kyuubi no Yoko…that explains it. Tell me child, what will you use my power for? Will you use me for destruction? For killing?"**_ Naruto was about to respond when Kyuubi intervened.

"**You should know that he takes control of a body from the negative feelings of its host. If you want to stay in control, you have to use the power for something good. Do you have something that you want to protect with all your soul?"**

An image of a girl with pink hair and green eyes came to mind.

"_I do have something I want to protect."_

"_**Mmm…you win this round but mark my words, the instant you let your guard down, I will strike."**_ The presence withdrew completely, leaving Naruto in full control of his body.

"_Wait, you never told me your name!"_

"_**Soul Edge."**_ Naruto wondered why it called itself that but a sound from behind him made him remember Iruka. Naruto turned around and rushed to his teacher's aid.

Within the Hokage Tower, the Hokage watched with an unbelieving expression at the events that have played out. He knew about Soul Edge and the power that it possessed and he was afraid that it would take over Naruto but he managed to take control of it. He watched as Iruka gave Naruto his headband and the sword disappeared on Naruto's back, sortof. The handle was positioned liked a sheathed katana. He sighed. One of these days, Naruto was going to be the death of him. He nearly had a heart attack when he killed Mizuki with the sword, but he had to wonder, how exactly did he manage to resist the sword? He watched as Naruto gave Iruka a big hug and a big smile on his face. He smiled too. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to do what needed to be done.

Within a clock tower, a monk that was banned from the holy order woke up from the feeling of a familiar presence. It has been so long since he felt that presence and he yearns to control that power. He just needed to wait until the right moment. He does, after all, have all the time in the universe. He turned in his sleep, his rosary glittering in the moonlight.

* * *

Before you start complaining that I abandoned my other fics, I just want to tell you that I haven't. I had been wanting to do a Naruto/Soul Caliber crossover ever since I got Soul Caliber 3. The beginning may suck because I wasn't sure how to start it but it will get better. I promise. Next chapter going up soon. 


	2. The Nightmare is Born

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 1**_

* * *

_One thing I forgot to mention that this story is slightly AU-ish_

* * *

_The next morning_

Sakura Haruno violently woke up, sweat clinged to her skin and her lungs trying to bring in as much air as possible. She had a horrible nightmare, very different then the ones she used to have with bullies tormenting her forehead. This one was more real...and bloody. It started out nice enough. She was a swordswoman with a glorious life then it all turned downhill. The next thing she knew, she was dying from a sword wound in the stomach. She heard a voice and it sounded dark and evil and sent tremors throughout her body.

"_**Now...give me...give me your soul and drown in the cesspools of darkness."**_

Just as she was about to look up to see her killer, she woke up.

"_It was just a dream, but it felt so real."_ Inner Sakura, who normally offered comfort at times like these, was unusually quiet. _"Are you there?"_

"_**Yeah, yeah, I'm here."**_ Sakura could detect the trembling voice which surprised her because nothing scared her.

"_Are you alright?"_

"_**Y-yeah, what makes you say that?"**_ Sakura could tell she didn't want to talk about it so she let it go...for now. She flung off the covers and got ready for her first day as a ninja.

Soon after arriving at the academy and getting into a seat, she noticed something unusual. Naruto was there for one thing, wearing a headband and what looked like the handle of a sword attached to his back, but with no blade. She didn't have any time to continue this train of thought when she was encountered by the last person she wanted to see...Ami.

"Well well, look what we have here, forehead-bitch." Ami was the school bully. She always made fun of her forehead and hit her in the same spot each time.

"Not now, whore."

"Oh, I'm not a whore. You are, seeing the way you are trying to give yourself to Sasuke-kun." Sakura didn't have the strength to deal with her today because of that nightmare but she didn't notice the hand grab her hair and forcibly pull her out of her seat, causing her to yell out in pain. "Listen here bitch, I..." The rest of her sentence was drowned out by her screams of pain as a humongous sword came down and separated the arm holding Sakura from Ami's body. She dropped to the floor and turned around to see Naruto in front of her, who apparently saved her, holding a big sword to a bleeding Ami's neck. She saw the look on Naruto's face that spelled trouble for his enemies. Her eyes traveled to the sword he was holding and saw it had a blinking eye and it was staring right at _her_. Inner Sakura gasped in shock and dropped down to the floor, her entire body shaking from the sight. Sakura could feel the gaze of the eye bearing done on her, and it frightened her.

"_**Oh Kami not that, anything but that. I swore I die before I saw that eye again."**_ Sakura was confused. Did she know that sword? She was about to ask her when she heard Naruto speak.

"I will not allow anybody to harm my Sakura-chan and that includes you. Now you will receive the punishment...of darkness." The blade glowed red and Naruto swiped the blade across her body. She screamed one last time before falling down unconscious. Naruto stared at her for a minute before putting the sword back on his back and everything but the handle disappeared. He turned around and Sakura could see the happy grin on his face. "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" She stared at Naruto for a moment.

"Yeah, I think so. What did you do to her?"

"Oh her? I just gave her the greatest nightmare of her life but enough about her. I wasn't fast enough to stop her from pulling on your hair and for that, I'm sorry. So, to make it up to you, I will take you on a date to cheer you up. How does that sound?" Naruto finished with a smile. Sakura was speechless for a moment but when she registered him asking her on a date, she immediately prepared the automatic response when Inner Sakura stopped her.

"_**Let him take you on the date."**_

"_What? No! I don't want to give Sasuke-kun the wrong idea."_

"_**Please do it. Don't make Naruto angry or sad besides haven't you figured out by now that the teme doesn't even care for us. He didn't even move a muscle when that bitch grabbed our hair. He won't make you happy."**_

"_And I suppose Naruto will?"_

"_**Yes, just give him a chance. A real chance and whatever you do, don't make Naruto sad."**_

"_Why do you care and speaking of which, you acted like you know that sword. Do you?"_ Sakura heard her inner gulp. She knew something.

"_**I do and I can't tell you yet, at least, not until I know for certain."**_ Inner Sakura cut off the link with outer Sakura. She snapped back to reality to see Naruto staring at her with a worried look on his face.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine and I guess I'll take you up on your offer of a date." Naruto's smile reached his ears when she said that.

"Great, I'll pick you up at 7 tonight. You won't regret it Sakura-chan." Still smiling, he helped her to her feet.

"_I hope not."_ She said mentally as he stared at him.

"_**You won't. I promise."**_

They noticed that Ami and Iruka were gone. Iruka most likely took her to the hospital. Sakura looked at the arm still there. Iruka must have forgotten to take it with him. She noticed something strange with it and bent down to take a closer look. She noticed that something was eating away at it and it wouldn't be long before it was completely eaten. She looked up to find Naruto gone already

* * *

_After the teams are announced (regular teams)_

Another teacher came by and dismissed the students for the day and told them to come back tomorrow to meet their senseis. Just as Naruto exited the school, an ANBU appeared in front of him and told him that the Hokage wished to see him. Acknowledging the request, the agent disappeared and he made his was to the tower. Naruto knew that he was going to be seeing the old man sooner or later. After climbing the stairs and arriving at the doors of the Hokage, Naruto knocked on the door announcing his presence and a voice on the other side told him to come in. He opened the door and went in.

Once inside, the door closed and Naruto came face to face with the Sandiame Hokage as well as his advisors. Naruto gulped and seeing the Hokage motion to the empty seat in front of the desk, moved toward it and sat down. Each person in front of Naruto, stared at him, judging him and his every move. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Hokage finally spoke.

"Naruto, can you tell us exactly what happened last night?" He nodded and started from the point when he failed the graduation test and when Mizuki offered him a chance to make up his exam, thus leading to the theft of the now-partially-destroyed Scroll of Sealing. He described his attempts of learning the Kage Bunshin and being successful at it. He then recounted what happened when Iruka caught him and discovered the being that was sealed inside of him. The Hokage winced when he mentioned the fox but Naruto didn't noticed. He then started to go into more detail at the point where Mizuki somehow changed his appearance and his brush with death.

"I thought I was going to die but Soul Edge saved me, sort of. He took total control over me and he was the one who killed Mizuki. I felt him drain his energy and when he was finished with him, turned on me. I would have died but Kyuubi spoke to me and told me to take control over the sword and with his help, I did." He finished leaving the three elders shocked.

"You say Kyuubi spoke to you?" He nodded.

"What about what happened in the classroom?"

"Oh that? That bitch was hurting Sakura-chan so I protected her and gave Ami horrible nightmare. One that she won't wake up for a while and here we are." Naruto finished and waited for the response. They looked at him some more and the Hokage dismissed him for now. When the door closed behind Naruto, they started talking.

"How could he have resisted its control? It's almost impossible for a human."

"I agree, but Naruto isn't normal. I believe him when he said Kyuubi helped him resist. Not even the fox wants to be control by something like that." The Hokage added his two cents.

"So what do we do with him?" The Hokage thought for a while.

"Nothing for now. We'll see how this turns out."

* * *

_Later that night_

Sakura Haruno was nervous about tonight. Ever since her inner self persuaded her to accept Naruto's offer of a date, she hasn't said a word. Her parents were out of town and wouldn't be back for quite a while and this was her very first date. After getting out of the shower and put on fresh undergarments, she wasn't sure on what to wear. After pondering this for about 20 minutes or so, she decided on a simple black kimono with red cherry blossoms. She replaced where her headband usually goes with a red ribbon. It was simple. She heard the doorbell ring and look at the clock. Seven o'clock, right on time. She left her room, grabbing her purse on the way out and went to the front door. She took a deep breath and opened it.

The sight that met her eyes was something that she would never had expected to see on the person in question. Naruto was standing in front of her with not a speck of orange on him. He had a beautiful red kimono with a pretty design on it. She did notice something weird though. The stomach seemed smaller than the rest of his body.

_AN: If you think the way I described the clothes sucked, so do I. I barely know anything about what the Japanese wear on dates._

"Sakura-chan, are you okay? Your face is all red." Sakura snapped out of her staring and she realized that she was blushing.

"I-I'm fine Naruto. Let's go." She stepped outside and closed and locked the door behind her. So they set off, where exactly, she doesn't know. "So what are we going to do, Naruto?"

"Well, I thought we get something to eat first, and then I'll take you to one of my favorite spots in the whole village." She nodded and let Naruto led her on to one of the many restaurants in the village. Unfortunally, things didn't go exactly right. When they reached the first restaurant, the waiter took one look at the guest and narrowed his eyes at him. When he asked for a table, he refused, saying that they were full. The empty tables behind them didn't help in the lie and when it was pointed out by Sakura, the waiter responded that they didn't serve his kind. Naruto responded accordingly and left to find another place but every restaurant refused to admit them, much to the confusion of Sakura.

While on the road, Sakura started to notice the glares the people were sending Naruto. She recognized those glares. They were full of hate and contempt. Now she was really confused. She knew that Naruto was a prankster but as far as she knows, even that isn't a good enough reason to hate somebody that much. It couldn't be the sword he has, could it? Remembering how much her inner self was scared of it, she would find out as much as possible.

"Hey Naruto?" He turned his head to her.

"Yeah?"

"When did you get that sword of yours?"

"This thing? Yesterday."

"Yesterday?" She asked in disbelief. He nodded. So it couldn't be the sword. "What is it anyway?" She asked as they passed by another restaurant. They could tell from the glares of the waiters that they wouldn't be welcome.

"To be honest, I don't really know. All I know is that its name is Soul Edge and that it is alive."

"Alive?" He nodded.

"Did you think that eye was for show?"

"Oh." She shuddered slightly remembering that it stared at her.

"_**Ask him how he got it?"**_ Sakura nearly jumped when she heard her inner speak for the first time in a while.

"_Where have you been?"_

"_**Just ask him."**_ She nodded.

"Where did you get it?"

"Honestly? It just flew into my hands." Somehow, she felt Inner Sakura confirm it. Sakura noticed that they were not in the restaurant district anymore and he seemed to be moving with a purpose.

"Where are we going?" She asked, wondering exactly where Naruto eat.

"Ichiraku Ramen, that's about the only place that lets me eat there and the owner are really nice." Naruto said with a grin. Sakura smiled as well. She had to admit, the faces he makes sometimes are cute, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud.

"The ramen stand? I saw you eat there a couple of times. In fact, that's the only time I seen you eat and somebody else pays for it." Sakura's brain started working. "You always eat at least 15 bowls. You eat like you had been starving for weeks." Then something happened that would forever change her life.

"Who says I eat?" Naruto slapped both of his hands over his mouth, realizing the mistake he just made. Sakura spun around to face the horror-struck boy with a horror-struck look on her face as well.

"W-what do you just say?" Seeing Naruto shake his head hard, refusing to answer only made her more curious. She suddenly remembered her observation about his stomach. "Naruto…let me see your stomach." Naruto's eyes widened and he shook his head again, hands still on his mouth. "Look, either you do it yourself or I will. Either way, I'm going to see it." She said with authority in her voice. She waited as Naruto thought it over. Sighing in defeat, Naruto removed his hands from his mouth and moved the clothes out of the way so she could see the stomach. As the last of the fabric was moved, Sakura gasped in shock as she saw the condition of his body. She couldn't see an ounce of meat on his body. She could see the outline of his ribcage very clearly and she saw, very clearly, scars from various weapons. Being a smart girl, she could tell what weapon made a scar and she could tell that he was struck with kunais, shurikens, katana's, and a lot of other weapons. She saw a group of maybe 15 or more scars right where his heart should be.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" She asked as she traced a nasty-looking scar with her finger. He shrugged.

"Fate happens." Sakura noted the present tense of the word, not the past tense. "When you got something that almost everybody hates with a passion, it's only a matter of time until they start to take it out on you. I can barely afford the rent in my apartment and I have no water, heat, or electricity. I managed to save what little I had left in order to make sure that you have a good time when we went out." Normally, Naruto wouldn't even be saying anything but for some reason, he just couldn't stop talking. Strangely, it feels like a very heavy weight has been taken off.

Sakura, however, wasn't thinking the same thing. She felt horrible when he started talking, but when he got to his living conditions, she thought she was a bitch because she used to treat him horrible. When she heard the last part, she realized something.

"_He's suffering because he saved up money for when we went out when he should have been using it for essentials, like eating. Oh kami, what have I done? If only I paid attention to what was going on instead of trying to get Sasuke's attention, I would have seen it."_ A thought occurred to her. _"When did he last eat?"_

"Naruto, when did you last eat?"

"About a month ago." He said as if it was normal, which for him, it probably was. Sakura thought she was going to die. He suffered so much, all for her and the guilt was tremendous. Sakura replaced the fabric and covered his stomach. With her mind made up, she grabbed Naruto's arm and started to drag him toward Ichiraku. Startled, Naruto tried to piece together what's going on. "S-Sakura-chan, where are you taking me?"

"It's my fault you're like this and I'm going to make up for it." She replied with confidence in her voice.

"But it isn't your fault, you..." Naruto was silenced by a hard jerk of the arm, which meant she wasn't going to argue, so Naruto let her drag him the rest of the way to the ramen stand where she forced Naruto into his seat and told the chef to make Naruto's usual, which he started without question. Naruto stared long and hard at the cherry blossom to his right. He couldn't figure out why she did what she did. She looked deep in thought He was about to ask her what she was thinking but the sweet smell of ramen filled his nostril as the first of the ramen was set down drew his attention away from Sakura. He stared at the steaming food of the Gods (in his opinion) and before you can even blink, he grabbed the chopsticks, broke them apart, and starting to inhale the food in front of him. Soon after the first bowl was done, he spied three more in front of him. Not wanting to let them go cold, he started to assault them without mercy as well.

Sakura, in the meantime, was very much deep in thought. She needed time to think about some things and Naruto eating would give her that. She started to think about exactly why they hated him. He had to have done something to warrant this kind of hate but what exactly? Sneaking a glance at the boy next to her, who was stuffing his face at the moment, she just can't believe that this boy would be capable of doing something like that. He seemed too innocent, too naïve. The only big thing that happened recently was the Uchiha massacre but that was caused by Itachi Uchiha. Going even further into the history was the Kyuubi attack but judging by his age and birthday, he was just born on that day so she was stumped. Gathering her courage, she tried to find some answers from the source.

"Hey Naruto?"

"Mrph?" Mumbled Naruto as his mouth was full of noodles. She giggled a little at the expression on his face but then turned serious.

"Can I ask...why do they hate you so much? What did you do to them?" Seeing his face do a 180 from the expression it had before made her worried she struck something very personal.

"I...I..." Sighing heavily, he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I can't tell you. I only just found out myself yesterday and I need to accept it for my own sake before I even think about telling someone else. I hope you understand, Sakura-chan." When Naruto said 'yesterday', her mind immediately went to the sword.

"Does it have anything to do with the sword?" Seeing him shake his head, one theory was scratched out. "It's alright. Take all the time you need and tell me when you think you are ready." He nodded.

"Thank you."

* * *

Unbeknownst to Naruto, Kyuubi was working overtime to keep Soul Edge in control.

* * *

Naruto went back to finishing his 18th bowl of ramen. Sakura twitched when she saw how many bowls he already eat and he didn't show any signs of stopping. She hoped she and Naruto had enough to cover the bill that was sure to be huge. She mentally sighed. She should have known what she would be getting into when she first heard about his life. Speaking of his life, where does Naruto stay? Putting her big brain to work, she started the process of elimination. She knew the town hated Naruto so he wouldn't be living near anybody. That eliminated apartments, and hotels. She doubted that any landlords would let him rent a place in the high/middle/low income sections of Konoha. That left the slums. The absolute worst place to live in Konoha. Somehow, she wouldn't be surprised if it was true. Glancing in the direction of Naruto, she saw that he added 6 more empty bowls to the pile and it looks like the one he is currently eating is his last. She waited until Naruto slurped up the last of the broth. 

"You doing alright?" He nodded happily and patted his stomach.

"I'm full. Thanks Sakura-chan."

"No problem. Wasn't there something else you wanted to do?" He nodded and brought out his Gama-chan wallet and Sakura's eyes bulged at how fat it was. He must have been saving for a very long time. Taking out her wallet, she insisted that she at least pay half. As they argued back and forth, Tenchu (I can never remember his name) watched the couple argue about who would pay the bill with a amused expression. He knew of his life and did everything he could to make it better. After a while of this, he interrupted saying that he would give them a big discount if they both paid. That sealed the deal as Gama-chan lost half of his weight and Sakura's purse got lighter. With that taken care of, Naruto led Sakura to his favorite spot in the village. The top of the 4th's head on the Hokage monument. They sat there in silence, neither needing to speak any words. Their presence alone is all they need.

For Naruto, this is the happiest day in his life. He finally got Sakura to accept a date from him and he enjoyed this night. Even if she won't go out with him again, he would always remember this night.

For Sakura, she wasn't exactly sure on what kind of night this was. She learned so much about Naruto in one night then the years that they were in the Academy. She would admit that despite all she learned, she had a good time with him and she never once thought of Sasuke, which surprised her. Now that she thought about it, the name Sasuke doesn't bring any of the feelings that it used to anymore. She was greatly confused, and her inner self wasn't helping at all.

It was getting late so Naruto offered to escort Sakura back to her home, which she accepted. While they made their way to Sakura's home, Sakura's mind was racing back and forth listing the pros and cons of a decision she just made. Should she do it and give her some piece of mind or should she shouldn't do it and let the guilt run wild? As they neared her home, the 'against' side of the argument was losing and by the time they reached the front door, it was completely wiped out.

"I had a good time Naruto." She said to Naruto's grinning face. He was definitely happy.

"Me too. Despite what happened, I still enjoyed it. Maybe we could do it again?" Naruto asked hopefully. Sakura thought for a moment and nodded.

"Sure, I'd like that." She smiled.

"Great, so I'll see you tomorrow then?" He started to turn away to leave but was stopped by Sakura's hand on his arm. He turned around to see Sakura's face not in its happy mood like it was a second ago. Even he could figure out that she was getting serious.

"Naruto, while we walked, I thought long and hard about something and I came to a decision." She took a deep breath and prepared herself. "I want you to move in with me." Sakura silenced him before he could argue so she could continue. "I want you to stay so I can take care of you. You suffered because of me. You saved what little you had by not eating and not using it for utilities and essential things at your home and even then, you live in the slums, the worst place to live." Naruto didn't ask how she knew he lived there. He knew she figured it out. "You suffered, all because you wanted me to have a good time for when we went out. I did have a good time tonight and now I will take care of you. You will live here where I can take care of you. Do you understand me, Naruto?" He stared at her in wonder. He never imagined that Sakura, of all people, would be offering to take care of him. He could see from her expression that she was serious and wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I understand Sakura, and I accept. Thank you." She nodded and started to pull him in the house.

"I'm glad you do. It's late right now so we'll get you stuff tomorrow morning." He nodded as he let her drag him inside the house. You can imagine his mood right now. He's sleeping in the same house as Sakura. If it wasn't for Kyuubi telling him how to act in those moments, he would be jumping up and down in joy. The door closed behind him and so the Haruno household gained another occupant.

* * *

_Rooftops_

On top of the high buildings in the residential district, over looking most of the households stood a woman with green hair and green clothes that was shredded on purpose revealing much of her tattooed body. She stood there looking down on the two children in front of a house, holding her weapon of choice.

"Hehe, looks like Master found a new body and it's cute too. I wonder why he chose that boy. There are plenty of evil people ripe for the taking so why him?" After a minute of coming up with nothing, she gave up. "I'll just keep an eye on him for now. That girl looks cute though." She jumped down from the building she stood on and started to look around some more.

* * *

Fate is a mysterious thing. It spells out lives and determines the life and death of a being. Few people, like Neji Hyuuga, have accepted their fate to be cursed with hatred of his family and believes that you can't escape fate. However, there are a very few beings that which fate has no control over. These beings have a tendency to defy the workings of fate, whether they know it or not. One such example is happening at this very moment. 

Deep within the slums of Konoha, a building is burning with intense flames. The cause of the flames was the result of a mouse carrying a lit cigarette into the building where it eventually caught something on fire. The fire went out of control very fast because of the trash that littered the floor and rotting wood.

Within a burning room, an orange jumpsuit decorated the floor with its ashes.

* * *

I like how this story is going so far. If I'm moving too fast, tell me and I'll slow it down. I am very tempted to give Naruto the armor of Nightmare but I have something else planned for that. Can't think of anything else to say other then R&R. I'm starting the next chapter now. One more thing...we had to get rid of the internet at my home so the only place I can get internet is at school so keep that in mind.

I still want reviews though.


	3. Discoveries and Decisions

_**Naruto Uzumaki, Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 2**_

* * *

The light shone through the window but was unsuccessful in its attempts to wake the slumbering cherry blossom. What woke her were the soft sounds of footsteps walking in the hallway. She opened her eyes and saw the ceiling of her parent's bedroom. She let Naruto take over her bed since she didn't want him to be sleeping on the couch or on the floor. She took a glance at the clock, 6:00. She raised an eyebrow, why would Naruto be up this early? 

"_**Umm Sakura? Don't you remember Ino was going to come by early this morning?"**_ Her inner spoke. Her eyes widened.

"_SHIT! She doesn't know about Naruto."_ Sakura threw the covers off of her, opened the door, and ran out. She turned the corner and saw Ino in front of Sakura's bedroom door. She looked shocked, but only for a moment. She geared up, ready to start yelling but Sakura managed to reach her and cover her mouth with her hand. She felt Ino tense up.

"Listen to me very carefully, Ino. You need to be very quiet. We are going to back away very slowly without making any noise and head to my parent's bedroom. Do you understand?" She whispered into Ino's ear. Ino nodded, very confused as to what is going on. Sakura turned her attention to the occupant on her bed, or rather the _lack_ of occupant on her bed. She looked to the side and the sight that met her eyes made her heart tighten with sorrow and guilt. Naruto was seen lying on the floor, naked except for his boxes, but she could see that he slept without a pillow, or even a blanket and she could see him shivering. It was then that she got a real look at his body. He was on his side and she could see his back. It almost made her throw up. There were whip marks on his back.

Ino also noticed the body as well. Her eyes scanned the body lingering on a mark on the side on his neck. Her eyes widened like she remembered something. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her eyes went to the corner of the room where a sword stood and she shivered. It wasn't the fact that it wasn't any kind of sword that she saw before except yesterday. It was the fact that it had an eye and it look at _her_. It didn't seem to look at her but rather inside her, looking at her soul.

"Ino, I'm going to let go now but you mustn't make a sound. I don't want you to wake him. I'll explain everything but don't wake him." Seeing Ino nod her head, she left go of her mouth and slowly entered her, or rather _his_, bedroom. She went to the bed and pulled off the cover and pillow. She crept over to Naruto and gently covered Naruto's body and put the pillow under his head. She then started stroking the whiskers on his face. "Naruto-kun, why do you keep doing this? I told you last night that you don't have to suffer anymore, at least not like this. I made you a promise that I would take care of you and I intend to keep it. You are going to need it, now that I know exactly what Soul Edge is. Nobody should hold that sword in their hands, especially you but you are holding it and you are suffering for it. I'll see you later, Naruto-kun." She got up and tiptoed out of the room and dragged Ino to her bedroom where they could talk. As soon as the door closed, Ino started bombarding her with questions. She waited until Ino was out of breath then she started talking starting with the incident in the classroom yesterday.

Ino listened, while Sakura talked. So far she was confused, but when she got to the part of the scars on his body, her fits balled up in remembrance of what she did all those years ago. Sakura noticed the change in Ino's mood.

"Ino, what's wrong?" The answer she got was not what she expected.

"I hoped he forgot. I prayed to Kami that he forgot what I did." Sakura was getting tense.

"Ino, what did you do?" Ino didn't answer right away and her faced looked liked she was trying to figure out if she should talk. Just as Sakura was going to speak, Ino beat her to it.

"It was about 6 years ago, before I even met you. My father and mother told me that they wanted me to do something and took me to the park. When we got there, I saw someone tied up on a pole. When I asked why he was tied up, he said that it wasn't real. It was a new practice dummy that was made, complete with blood." Ino's eyes started to tear up. "He handed me a kunai and told me to start stabbing him. I wasn't sure if I should but he assured me that he wasn't real. So I walked up to him and stabbed him. He didn't move so I did it again and again. The last strike was a slice on the side of his neck and blood started to flow freely." Now Ino was crying. "I was going to make one last strike to his head because I got caught up in the moment but before I was going to strike, I got caught by something. Then, for some reason, I passed out. I later learned that the Nara clan stopped me from making the last strike and that my mom and dad were sent to prison for attempted murder. I never learned anything else but when I went to the Academy for the first time and I saw that body was real, I knew I almost killed him that day. When I asked him about that scar on his neck, he said that he didn't remember but I saw his eyes and I knew he knew." Ino didn't continue because she couldn't control her crying.

* * *

_5 minutes later_

Ino was starting to calm down. After reliving that experience, she simply broke down. All of her guilt poured out of her that was slowly building up over the years. Soon, her sobs became hiccups until she eventually calmed down.

"You feeling better Ino?" She nodded.

"Do you think he will forgive me?" Sakura thought for a moment.

"Naruto…is the kind of guy that can forgive anybody as long as they are truly sorry. When you think you are ready, go to him and ask him." Ino nodded but something came to mind.

"Sakura, why did you stop me from waking Naruto? You acted like my life depended on it." Sakura looked away nervously and muttered something that sounded like _'It did'. _Seeing the look on Ino's face and realized that she wasn't going to let it go so she started to explain.

"During the night, I woke up the sound of screaming coming from Naruto's room. I figured that he was having a nightmare so I went to his room and he was having a nightmare." Sakura started to rub her neck. "When I tried to wake him up, I almost lost my head." Seeing Ino's shocked expression, she assured her that she was alright. "Naruto didn't know what he was doing until he woke up with Soul Edge pressed up against my throat. Needless to say, he was mad at himself for trying to harm me."

"He must really love you." Sakura nodded.

"I can tell but I still feel guilty for not paying attention to him before and I feel even more guilt now that I know exactly what Soul Edge is." Sakura remembered her conversation with her inner self.

* * *

_Flashback_

Sakura had just finished putting Naruto to bed and after she was sure he was asleep, she decided it was time for Inner Sakura to explain herself.

"_Well?"_

"_**I guess I should tell you."**_

"_You damn right. I've been kept in the dark long enough."_

"_**Alright, I guess I'll start in the beginning. That sword is called Soul Edge. It was just a regular sword, forged by the hands of man but it changed after being bathed in blood and hatred. The first human to posses the sword was strong enough to resist the swords mental assault but he was the only one. Humans, nowadays, are too corrupted and will easily fall victim to its preying but there are a very few individuals that has a pure soul and a strong mind that is capable of resisting it and I believe that Naruto is one of those people."**_

"_So you're saying Naruto took control of Soul Edge?"_

"_**Well...yes and no."**_

"_Huh?"_

"_**Naruto's too young to be able to resist him totally."**_

"_So how did he?"_

"_**He had help."**_

"_What kind of help?" _Sakura saw her inner shake her head.

"_**I can't tell you. That's up to him and let me tell you right now, if you have the same opinion of these motherfucking villagers, I will not hesitate to kill myself and take you with me."**_ Sakura was surprised at the tone that she just used. She found herself nodding, not wanting to see if she could really do that. _**"Good. Now, is there anything else you want to ask me?" **_The moment she asked that, there was one question that came to mind.

"_Who are you?"_ There was silence. Sakura thought she hit the wrong spot and was about to ask another question when she started talking.

"_**I am, or was, a samurai princess to a clan long forgotten. I was killed by Nightmare when our clan tried to stop him. My soul was taken by Soul Edge but then, I was put into another body for some reason that already had another soul."**_

Sakura was starting to see what she was getting at.

"_But that means…"_

"_**Yeah, I was put into the very first Haruno." **_Seeing the look on her face, she explained more. _**"When she had a child, another soul was born along with the child and took up residence in the newborn along with a copy of my memories. It has been like that ever since."**_

Sakura just sat there, mouth gaping open, stunned at this new information. She was about to say something else when a loud shout came from Naruto's bedroom. She forgot her concerns for the moment and ran out to help him.

_End Flashback._

"Whoa." Ino said after hearing the truth about the sword. She was speechless. Sakura chuckled.

"Yeah, that's about how I reacted." Sakura took a glance at the clock which read 7 o'clock. "Listen Ino, maybe you should be going now. We still have to go by his apartment and pick up his stuff and we have to be at the Academy by 8." Sakura hoped that she would leave so they could get started. Luckily, she took the hint.

"Alright forehead, I'll leave." She got up and started toward the door. "One more thing…" Sakura picked up on a different tone in her voice. "Now that Naruto is living with you, don't do anything that I wouldn't do." She said with a flirty tone.

"INO!" She picked up the nearest thing and flung it at Ino who ran out of the room, laughing like a maniac. She groaned. "Stupid pig." She sighed. "I suppose I better start breakfast, the smell alone should wake him up." She got up and took a quick shower and dressed in her normal attire. Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, and started to cook it. She should really thank her mother for teaching her how to cook.

The thought of her mother made her pause. How the hell is she going to explain Naruto living in her house? She knew how much she and her father hated Naruto. Fortunally, she had about a month to figure something out before they returned. She resumed her cooking and soon the entire house was filled with the aroma of the cooked food. True to her words, Naruto soon came stumbling down the stairs, still in his boxers, drawn in by the sweet smell of breakfast. She winced when she saw the suffering body.

"What's that smell, Sakura-chan?" She smiled, determined to heal that body, which Inner Sakura agreed.

"_**We are going to buff up that body and also do other things with it."**_ Inner Sakura ended that sentence with a perverted giggle. Sakura almost dropped the plate and was about to retort when a thought struck her mind.

"_Did he even get any sex-ed?"_

"_**Probably not."**_ She agreed with her inner.

"It's breakfast, Naruto-kun." He looked at her in confusion.

"What's breakfast?" She winced again and felt the sorrow creep into her heart.

"It's the first meal of the day and I made a lot just for you." She saw Naruto's eyes turn to the table and his mouth start drooling. She motioned to the chair and Naruto took that as an invitation and sat down and started eating. She sat down as well and started eating. As they eat, she felt it was too quiet so she turned on the radio.

**_I walk a lonely road  
The only one that I have ever known  
Don't know where it goes  
But it's home to me and I walk alone_**

**_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of broken dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk alone_**

Naruto stopped eating and paid full attention to the song as well as Sakura.

_**My shadows the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
Til then I'll walk alone**_

_**Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh  
Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh**_

_**I'm walking down the line  
That divides me somewhere in my mind  
On the border line of the edge  
And where I walk alone**_

_**Read between the lines what's  
Fucked up and every things all right  
Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive  
And I walk alone**_

**_I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk alone  
I walk a..._**

**_My shadows the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
Til then I'll walk alone_**

**_Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh  
Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ah-Ah Ahhh_**

**_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of broken dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk a.._**

**_My shadows the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow hearts the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
Til then I'll walk alone!_**

Sakura turned off the radio, not wanting to feel anymore grief. She snuck a glace to Naruto who seemed to be deep in thought. "Hey Naruto-kun?" She tried to get his attention. It seemed to work as he raised his head and looked at her. She could see the sadness and loneliness in his eyes. "You alright?" He nodded and started to eat again. Sakura, seeing that he looks alright, continued to eat as well. They eat in silence for a while before they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get that." Said Sakura as she got up from her seat and walked up to the front door and opened it to receive the surprise of her life. The Hokage was standing in front of her, as two other people. One had long, white, spiky hair with red lines coming down from his eyes. The other had gravity defying gray hair and was dressed in standard jounin uniform. He had a mask covering the bottom half of his face and his headband tilted to cover his right eye.

"Haruno-san?" Sakura turned his attention back to the Hokage who just spoke.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Is Naruto-kun here?"

"What's it to you?" She spat out before closing her mouth with her hands, her face in horror at what she just said to the Hokage. A snicker was heard from the white haired man and the grey haired man raised his eyebrow along with the Hokage. "Please forgive me, I…" She was cut off by a raised hand from the Hokage, who didn't seem insulted in the least.

"It's alright. Judging from that tone, I guess he is here. May I talk to him?" Sakura seemed to hesitate to respond but lowered her hands.

"I'll tell him you're here." She started to turn around, her face still in the horrified expression at what she just done, but she was interrupted by a shout.

"OLD MAN!" Naruto rushed past the horror stricken Sakura and glomped the Hokage who chuckled. Sakura seemed to recover somewhat after seeing the happy expression on his face while he hugged the old man.

"Naruto-kun, how have you been?" Naruto started to tell him about his date with Sakura while Sakura took the time to notice the expressions on the others faces. The white haired man seemed to be snarling as he looked at Naruto's body. The other man looked to be the same as he looked at the body as well. Sakura was about to say something when Naruto finished his talk with the Hokage

"…and Sakura-chan let me move in with her." That statement shook the men out of their staring and they seemed to process what just been said and the white haired man started to giggle, the same giggle that her inner used just recently.

"Really?" The Hokage seemed just as surprised. He looked over to Sakura who had a sheepish look on her face.

"Yeah, and we were going to go by my apartment to pick up my stuff after we finished eating breakfast." The fragile-looking man face turned sad and Naruto noticed. "What's wrong?" He put a hand on the young boy shoulder.

"Maybe we should sit down." Sakura knew by the soft tone of his voice that he didn't have good news. The group came inside and closed the door behind them and Sakura noticed the jounin carrying a duffel bag. They made their way to the living room and everybody sat down.

"What's wrong?"

"Naruto…your apartment caught on fire last night and it quickly burned down." Naruto's face quickly turned sad. Sakura couldn't stand seeing that face on a normally happy boy so she got up from her seat, made her way over to the big chair that Naruto sat and sat down beside him and took his hand into hers. She could tell that he was holding back tears.

"H-how did it start?"

"It appears that a cigarette started it all and given the state of the home, it took no time for the entire building to catch and burn. Sakura took her other hand and placed it on top of their hands.

"It's going to be alright. Just let it out." That was all it took for the waterworks to start as Naruto started to cry on Sakura's shoulder. She could understand his position. Despite it being a horrible place, it was still home to him.

"_**Sakura, don't you realize?"**_

"_What?"_

"_**Naruto should be dead. If it wasn't for us...hell, if Naruto didn't get that sword, he should be dead by now."**_

"_Oh kami, you're right."_

At that revelation, Sakura started to cry as well, much to the confusion of the adults present. It took a while for Naruto to calm down but eventually, the tears stopped with the comfort of Sakura. The Hokage decided to speak up.

"Naruto, Sakura, I would like for you to meet your sensei's. This is Kakashi Hatake." The scarecrow-like man raised his hand.

"Yo."

"And this is Jiraiya." Jiraiya did the same. Sakura was confused.

"But I thought we only had one sensei?"

"Slight change of plans. Jiraiya is going to be teaching Naruto while Kakashi focuses on you and Sasuke."

"Oh, ok. Will Naruto-kun still train with us?"

"If he wants." Jiraiya spoke up.

"I do want to train with them." Naruto spoke after what it seems like a while. The Hokage nodded and motioned to Kakashi who handed him a duffel bag.

"I took the liberty of getting you some clothes for a while until you can get some more." Naruto took the duffel bag and opened it to reveal a couple pants, shirts, shoes that were made for a shinobi as well as standard ninja tools. Naruto closed it up and went to the bathroom to change. After changing and grabbing Soul Edge and both him and Sakura finishing their breakfast, Naruto and Sakura left the house along with their new teachers to meet up with Sasuke at the Academy. Soon after arriving at the Academy and meeting up with Sasuke, who raised his eyebrow at the change of clothes that Naruto wore and the appearance of a Sannin. Sasuke smirked, thinking that he was here for him.

He had never been so wrong in his life.

* * *

_On the rooftop_

"Alright, now that we are gathered, let's get to know each other. You know, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, that stuff. I'll start. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I have many likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future…" He shrugged.

"_He only told us his name"_ Was the thought that ran through the genin's minds.

"My turn." Jiraiya spoke up. "I am Jiraiya of the Sannin. My likes are research, writing. My dislikes…don't really feel like tell you that. My hobbies including writing. My dreams for the future…don't really have any. Alright, now it is your turn." He pointed to Sasuke. "You go first brooder." Sasuke scowled at the nickname.

"My name…is Sasuke Uchiha."

"_What, did he forget his name?"_ Naruto thought with a smile as he noticed the pause.

"My likes are training, and I have many dislikes. My hobbies include training and more training. My dreams…no, my ambition is to restore my clan and to kill a certain man."

"_Damn, he's the poster boy for emo-ness."_

"_I knew this was going to happen."_

"Alright, blondie." Naruto reached behind his back and pulled out Soul Edge and stabbed it in the ground.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and this is Soul Edge. My likes are eating ramen and tasting different kinds of ramen and Sakura-chan. I have many dislikes. My hobbies include training. My dreams for the future include being Hokage and having everybody respect me."

"_Very interesting. I like this kid."_ "Pinky." Eye twitching at the name. It was Sakura's turn.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are Naruto-kun, flowers, and other stuff. My dislikes are most of the people in the village." Eyebrows were raised at this. "My hobbies include training. My dream of the future is to become strong like Tsunade." A snicker erupted from Jiraiya.

"Girl, you have a long way to go." Ignoring the stare she was giving him. He continued. "Alright, now that we know each other, we can start with the exam."

"What exam?"

"The exam that proves that you have what it takes to be genin." 3 shouts came out of each of the 3 would-be genins. "I'll explain." Kakashi started to explain the bell test. After everything had been said, Kakashi handed a bell to Jiraiya, who tied it on his belt. "Alright, when I say go, I want you to come at me with the intent to kill."

Soul Edge eye twitched.

"Ready...go!" Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke disappeared. "Well, at least they know how to hide themselves." He said offhand. He turned to Jiraiya. "Shall we?" He nodded and the two of them started to walk.

* * *

I'm going to end it here. Also, my first poll for this story. 

-Do you want Sasuke bashing?

I'll tell you this, it is going to be unique from here on out. Also, the song is Boulevard Of Broken Dreams by Green Day. I suggest you find it on Youtube and listen to it while you read it. This site hates me. I had to edit this 6 times.


	4. The Nightmare is here

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

When Kakashi shouted go, Sakura leaped away and successfully hid herself within the forest. She was proud of that fact so imagine her reaction when somebody tapped her on the shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin but she calmed down when she saw a grinning Naruto behind her. She sighed and gave him a small thump on the head and reprimanded him for scaring her and after she did that she asked how he found her. He took it like a man and said what he came here to say and replied to her question that he smelled her. 

"Something is wrong with this test." Naruto got straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" Sakura was confused.

"Why are there only two bells? Shouldn't there be three?" Sakura was normally a smart girl but this time, she was confused. She started to put her big forehead to work and she started to mumble to herself.

"_He's a jounin...sannin...2 bells...3 to a team..."_ This continued for a minute until she finally realized what the trick was.

"_Teamwork."_ She whispered.

"What?"

"The trick is teamwork. They are trying to pit us against each other. We have to work together to get those bells." Naruto's face lit up with excitement.

"That's great. You figured it out." Naruto gave her a hug which resulted in a blush from her. Naruto, realizing what he was doing at the very moment; quickly released her all the while blushing like there is no tomorrow. "Ahem, now that we figured it out the trick behind the whole thing, what should we do?"

"I'll go find Sasuke and tell him the secret meaning while you start attacking them. While you are attacking them, we will wait for an opening and try to take the bells. Got it?" Naruto nodded and quietly snuck away to ambush them. Sakura started to sneak away as well to find Sasuke.

* * *

_Meanwhile_

"So, when do you think they will make a move?" Kakashi asked as he stood waiting.

"Ohh, I don't know. How about now?" Jiraiya ducked and dodged a kunai that whizzed past. They both turned around to see Naruto standing on a tree stump and his arms crossed.

"Fight me right now!" Naruto demanded of his new sensei's. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't very bright are you?" Naruto ignored the comment and charged while making the seal for Kage Bunshin and 10 more Naruto's popped up with half and half taking on each of the two adults. Jiraiya toyed with the clones along with Kakashi. After a while, all the clones were poofed away and Kakashi thought up a great idea. Doing a body flicker, he appeared behind Naruto with his hands in a seal. **"THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"** Kakashi rammed his fingers up Naruto's ass and Naruto's body was filled with pain and he was sent flying into the river.

Jiraiya chuckled at the scene but he suddenly felt two chakra signatures converging on their position. "Kakashi, we got company." The Sannin and jounin both did a back flip, avoiding the grabbing hands of Sasuke and Sakura. They didn't give up as they tried to grab them as they landed, but it didn't work. They were about to try something else but something caught their attention. Jiraiya sensed energy coming from the direction Naruto landed and turned around to look and was immediately felt a sense of doom. "Umm Kakashi?" Kakashi turned his head to look at Jiraiya. "I don't think you should've done that to Naruto." Confused, Kakashi turned around to look at the lake to see it glowing red and in an instant, part of the lake evaporated and turned to steam. A figure jumped from below and landed on the shore. The steam moved aside to let everybody see a pissed off Naruto holding Soul Edge. One thought ran through Kakashi's mind.

"_Shit!"_

"_**You will pay for that you cur!"**_ Kakashi entire body twitched at being called a cur. He didn't even notice that Naruto's voice changed. Naruto disappeared from view and Kakashi barely had time to block the sword as it came to slash open his mid-section.

"_Ok, rule # 1: When teaching these kids, never make Naruto angry."_

Kakashi had a hell of a time trying to block Naruto's strikes. It seemed as time went on, Naruto got madder and as Naruto got madder, he seemed to get more faster. Kakashi jumped back to avoid an upper-strike when Naruto leapt in the air, Soul Edge above him. He made a mistake that will cost him his life.

He looked into the eye of the sword.

The eye looked back and Kakashi could feel the evil energy radiating off of it.

He stood there frozen as the sword came down. Three observations were made at this point.

* * *

Sakura noticed that Naruto's hands were glowing blue. 

Sasuke noticed that fire and lighting followed the swords' wake.

Kakashi noticed that he was about to die.

Nobody noticed the nine poofs of smoke.

* * *

Kakashi was ripped away just as the sword came crashing down and destroyed that section of the field. Dust was flown everywhere and ninja from 10 miles away felt the energy being released. The onlookers watched in amazement as the dust settled and there was as gaping hole, 100 feet across and 50 feet down, in front of where Naruto stood. Said person noticed something in front of him and bent down and picked it up. 

It was a bell.

Naruto smirked. One down, one to go. He turned his attention toward the shocked Jiraiya. _**"I will show you...the greatest nightmare!"**_ With that, Naruto tightened his grip on his sword and rushed toward Jiraiya.

"KAKASHI!" Kakashi didn't acknowledge the voice that called out to him. He just sat there, surrounded by his ninja dogs. If he wasn't shocked to hell, he would have realized that he didn't call them. A blur of green stood in his path of vision. The dogs parted and the person picked him and shook him, trying to get him to his senses. It took a few moments but he finally recovered enough to recognize Gai with a worried look on his face. "KAKASHI, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Yep, that was Gai, with no volume control at all.

"_I died. I died. I died."_ Kakashi kept repeating that much to the confusion of the green spandex jounin.

"I better get you to the hospital." He turned toward his team of genin that just arrived. "Stay here but don't interfere unless absolutely necessary." The three genin nodded. When Gai left with the dogs following, the girl of the group turned toward a pupil-less boy.

"Neji, what's going on?" She noticed that he already had his Byakugan on. The boy named Neji looked on the fight and saw one of the genin hopefuls fight again what looked to be Jiraiya but something was weird about the boy. He can see through illusions but what he is seeing right now is confusing him. He sees a blond-haired boy, that much is certain, but what is confusing is that he is seeing something else at the same time. A creature that he was also seeing had blue armor on but the left side of the arm was...mutated, for lack of a better word. It seemed to have the arm of a horrible creature with a mouth on it as well. He looked to be a knight, with azure armor. "Neji, what do you see?" He fell silent for a moment to gather his thoughts to respond in the right way.

"I see a boy fighting someone but at the same time, I see that boy as something else. I see an Azure Knight that looked like he was cursed holding a demonic blade. I don't..." What happened next would forever be burned in his memory. The boy/knight paused in his fighting and turned around and looked straight at Neji. He looked him right in the eye.

Red eye to pupil less eye.

"_**Can you see?"**_ Neji stumbled back in surprise. It wasn't possible for that creature to be talking to him. He's too far away. He tried to look away but he couldn't, not while this...monster was looking at him. _**"Can you see the nightmare that plagues your soul? YOUR NIGHTMARES WILL NEVER END!"**_ Neji was hit with some kind of mental attack and he passed out, only to fall into the clutches of the nightmares of his soul.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

Naruto smirked. The 'observers' were taken care of, now he just have to deal with Jiraiya. So far, Naruto stayed on the offensive, never giving him a moment to strike. He hasn't broken sweat yet. Having massive stamina is a blessing after all, but it was time to finish it. He activated his Soul Charge to the highest level. He ran toward Jiraiya, jumped when he was halfway, and started his journey back to the ground but something interrupted it. There was a giant explosion of smoke and the clang of metal hitting metal indicating that his strike was blocked. A breeze came by and blew the smoke away to reveal a giant frog, holding a big wakizashi. The giant frog pushed Naruto back and he flew back and landed on the ground. What was said next surprised him.

"**So it's true. That sword is back. I felt its presence but I didn't want to believe it. That cursed sword was supposed to remain sealed. How did a little boy like you get a hold of it?"** Naruto didn't respond as he was too shocked at the fact that the frog was _talking_.

"GAMABUNTA!" Jiraiya appeared in front of the frog. The eyes of the frog looked at the sannin. "What's going on? I didn't call you." Gamabunta studied the toad hermit for a moment before answering.

"**I'm calling the council Jiraiya. Prepare the boy."** With that said, Gamabunta disappeared in a huge puff of smoke. After the smoke cleared, Jiraiya rubbed his head.

"Ah great, the council."

"Jiraiya-sensei? What's going on?" Jiraiya nearly fainted hearing the boy, whom he was just fighting against, speak next to him. He faintly heard the bell going off, indicating that the test was over. Sakura and Sasuke both made their way over to the group, shock visable on their faces. "Did we pass?" Jiraiya sighed. What was he thinking, agreeing to this?

"Yes Naruto, you passed, along with the rest of you." Seeing the confused looks on their faces, Jiraiya explained. "You realized what this test was about, teamwork. You all worked together to achieve a goal and even though you finished it halfway, you still passed this exam so you passed." The three now-genins cheered, well...two genins, and hugged each other before pushing each other off, blushing. Jiraiya chuckled. "Alright kiddies, off you go. I want all of you to meet at the bridge that we crossed to get here each day at 7:00. Naruto, I'm going to come by later and explain what is going to happen very soon." They nodded and Sasuke went home. Sakura turned to Naruto.

"You did great Naruto-kun." Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hehe, thanks Sakura-chan. You did great too."

"I didn't do anything and that's the problem." Naruto looked at her confused. "I'll see you at home. You have my key right?" Seeing him nod, she continued. "I'll be home late. There's something I want to do."

"Alright Sakura-chan. I'll see you later." Naruto turned and left the training grounds. Sakura waited until he was out of sight. She turned around and headed toward a shop that she's been itching to buy something ever since this whole thing started. Jiraiya watched her go and decided to follow. He was just intrigued at what she was planning, it wasn't anything perverted...so why was he holding his notebook and pen and giggling all the way?

* * *

_Later_

Sakura giggled as she stepped out of the shop. She managed to get a discount on her new items that she brought. Now all that's left is to find a place where she would be alone. Jiraiya watched with an amused expression. So she was buying _those_ but that expression turned sour. She would need help. She would need an teacherto help her. The smile came back. He knew the perfect one and it just so happened that he was in town right now. Jiraiya disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

_(I bet right now you think she bought something perverted don't you? Well...you'll have to find out)_

* * *

_Much, much later_

"DAMMIT! WHY CAN'T I GET THIS RIGHT?" Sakura shouted after failing at getting a basic samurai stance right. The scroll said to do this and so she did it but it came out completely wrong. She spent the last 2 hours trying to get at least one stance right but everything she does come out wrong. She sighed. Maybe she wasn't meant to do this. She was about to put it down when a voice interrupted her.

"Little girl, what are you doing?" She snapped her head to her left and a man stepped out of the shadows. He looked to be a samurai, judging by his armor and sword.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She shot back.

"Hmm..." He studied her for a moment. "You're doing it all wrong."

"Huh?" He walked up to her.

"Your legs are positioned wrong." He adjusted her legs with his feet. "Your body is at the wrong position." He adjusted her body. "Your arms are too high." He adjusted her arms lower. He stepped back and was grunted in approval. He noticed a scroll unrolled and picked it up. "So this is where you were trying to learn it from."

"What's it to you?" She shouted back. He smirked.

"This guy is a joke." He threw the scroll in the air and sliced it up into tiny pieces and Sakura watched with horror as her teaching materials were floating down. One thought ran through her mind.

"Hey! I could have gotten a refund on that." He smirked.

"Trust me, anything made by him is better off destroyed."

"Who are you?" She finally asked. He brought his head down so that he was face to face with Sakura.

Face to smirking face.

"The name is Mitsurugi Heishiro and from now on, I will be your sensei for learning the way of the samurai." That statement alone was enough for Sakura to fall out of her stance and onto the ground.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. I will be your samurai sensei while your other sensei will be your ninja sensei. I can even help you out with some of the ninja stuff. Sakura didn't question the last sentence, she was just happy that she had someone to teach her and teach her right. Mitsurugi shouted bringing her back to the real world and they started the day's lessons.

* * *

_Nighttime_

Sakura opened the door to her home, dead tired and hurting all over. She didn't even get two steps in her house before she was rammed by a blond blur. Sakura gasped out a word of hurt and Naruto let go and Sakura found herself being carried by Naruto and she was laid down on her bed. Sakura could hear the worried tone of Naruto as he kept on asking what was wrong. She assured him that she was alright and that she was training with her new sensei.

"New sensei?"

"Yeah, I found a teacher to teach me how to use a sword. He's a slave driver, I'll tell you that."

"You're learning how to use a sword?" She nodded and tried to get up from the bed but she fell down because of her new weights that Mitsurugi gave her. Naruto sensed her discomfort and bent down and removed her weights. Sakura felt silly and flattered that Naruto was giving her this much attention. She gasped as Naruto's fingers started to work on her feet. A moan left her lips before she could stop it and laid back and started to enjoy the _heavenly_ massage that Naruto was giving her. She knew that he wouldn't have any training so he must be a natural at this. She heard a poof and saw that Naruto made a clone and said clone started to work on her other left out foot which caused her to moan again, louder this time. She had no idea that Naruto was such a natural at this.

What she didn't know is that Kyuubi was giving Naruto advice about using chakra on his hands for her feet.

Sakura was lost in the pleasures that Naruto was giving her that she didn't notice another poof of smoke and she left out a yelp when she was suddenly lifted up in the air, shirt was removed, and put face down on the bed. The hands went back to the feet and she could feel Naruto straddle her and start to work on her back. Any protest that would have been said died when his hands made contact with her back. He apparently found the lotion and applied some to his hands and continued his work.

* * *

_5 minutes later_

Sakura Haruno was in heaven.

She lost all sense of reality as the godly hands worked their magic on her but she didn't notice a certain pressure build up in a specific spot down below and the pressure increased until it released.

"Sakura-chan, what's that smell?" Sakura snapped out of her high when she felt wetness between her legs. Her cheeks blushed red with embarrassment.

"Naruto-kun, can you turn on the shower for me?" Naruto was confused.

"Why?"

"Just do it." Naruto nodded and went into bathroom that's connected to the master bedroom. When Naruto was out of sight, Sakura turned around and looked down to see that she was dripping and that part of her clothes was soaked. Her blush deepened. She had an orgasm just from Naruto massaging her. Has that ever happened before? She heard the shower turn on and grabbing fresh clothes, she ran into the bathroom just when Naruto stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Naruto didn't know what she was so embarrassed about. Kyuubi decided to talk to him.

"**Kit, you really don't know what just happened to her?"**

"_No I don't. Do you?"_

"_**Is he really that dumb? Even I know what happened."**_ Soul Edge joined in the fray.

"_What happened?" _Kyuubi ignored him.

"**You haven't seen his life."**

"_If you aren't going to answer my question, I'm going to leave."_

"**Ask the Hokage, he'll know."**

"_Ok."_ Naruto left the mental talk.

"_**What was his life like? I don't have access to his memories."**_

"**I'll show you."** Kyuubi showed Naruto's memories to Soul Edge, starting from birth all the way to the present. **"Well?"**

"…"

"**Mmm?"** The silence was weird, especially coming from a being like Soul Edge

"_**Even…even I was treated better then this when they were trying to either kill me or possess me. They knew I was a sentient being but this is inexcusable. They call us demons? THEY ARE THE DEMONS!" Soul Edge was shouting now. "I SWEAR ONCE I GET CONTROL, I WILL TAKE VENGENCE ON THIS VILLAGE!"**_ The soul of Soul Edge struck a pose that Kyuubi thought was supposed to be terrifying but from the way that he was trying to stifle a laugh, it wasn't that terrifying. It seems oddly familiar to the pose that Naruto does sometimes. The soul apparently realized this and dropped out of the pose quicker than you could blink. _**"Oh kami, Naruto is corrupting me. That isn't right. I'M SUPPOSED TO BE CORRUPTING HIM!"**_ The soul shouted to the heavens as Kyuubi couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, giving Naruto on the outside a headache.

* * *

_Sometime later_

Naruto heard the shower turn off and a minute later Sakura stepped out of the shower, dressed in a simple nightgown with her head bowed down. Naruto thought he would get his answer straight from the source.

"Sakura-chan, what happened?" At that question, Sakura snapped her head up and her could see a blush on her face.

"Um…well…it's nothing really…I just…" She stuttered out and Naruto was still confused.

"Are you hurt or something?" He asked.

"No!" She quickly stated. "It wasn't anything like that, it was the opposite." Seeing the confused look on his face, she realized what the problem was. "You really don't know anything about the female body, do you?" He shook his head, which lead to another question. "Then how did you create that **Sexy Jutsu** of yours?"

"I just got the idea from a magazine that I saw somebody pass out from a nosebleed." She sighed. She expected that the village would do anything they could to halt his development but she didn't know how far it went. She already figured out that Naruto's malnutrition shot his chakra control to hell and when she tried to get help from the hospital, they turned him away and the Hokage couldn't do anything about it if he wanted to keep the hospital staff so there wasn't a lot that she could do for him but she was determined to help him at all costs, even if it means giving Naruto sex-ed herself. The thought made her blush. She also noticed that some of the scars were going away.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Naruto's question snapped her out of her mental 'class' that she pictured.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Let's go to bed. You eat, right and took a shower?" Seeing him nod his head, she shooed him away for bed. She was about to flop down on the bed but she realized that it was wet so she took the sheets off and replaced them with some new ones. After that, she crawled into bed and fell into a peaceful slumber but even asleep, she could feel something watching her. It feels like Soul Edge but different. This presence was peaceful and not evil. She could feel a desire to protect, rather than to kill.

"_**What do you want most?"**_ Somehow, she wasn't surprised at the question. She thought for a moment before answering.

"_I want to make Naruto-kun better. I want to heal him. I want to protect him from everything, even Soul Edge."_ She could feel a reaction from the presence when she mentioned Soul Edge.

"_**Do you really want that?"**_ The presence asked.

"_I do."_ Sakura fell into a full sleep. The presence watched her for a moment before leaving but not before saying one last thing.

"_**We will see in the future. If you really want to protect the boy, I will let you possess me."**_

* * *

I'm having a lot of fun with this. Don't worry, the Sasuke bashing (toned down) will start during the Wave arc. I have several things planned before we get to the Wave arc and I'll tell you this right now, I will be skipping events in this arc. I am NOT a very patient man and I will only write the important parts such as the first encounter with the Demon brothers and Zabuza, as well as a few parts in between and the last encounter with Zabuza and the events that happen after that. 

_Spoiler Opportunity time_

_If you can guess the next Soul Caliber character that will make an appearance, I will give you a spoiler. No hints. Tira and Mitsurugi don't count. Swords don't count too._

Next chapter: Naruto and Sakura go in front of the Council. Two people come back earlier than expected. Naruto obtains the Nightmare pact. (What that is, you will have to find out when it happens).

As always, Read and Review.

_**-Gnosismaster-**_


	5. Alliances and Education

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

_**WARNING: THE LAST PART OF THIS CHAPTER MAY BE CONSIDERED M.**_

_**In the words of the box ghost: "BEWARE!"**_

* * *

_Three days later_

The sun shone through the window and stirred Sakura in her sleep. She tried to roll over but was kept in place by arm wrapped around her. Her state of consciences lost to the fury of the sun, her eyes opened and were greeted by the site by a mess of blonde hair. She smiled at the sight of Naruto's peaceful face. Normally, she wouldn't dare be in the same bed as a boy but things are never normal nowadays.

Naruto started having nightmares a couple of days ago and despite all her best efforts to wake him up, he still suffered so she did the only thing that was left, and with the urging of Inner Sakura, climbed into bed and try to calm him down. It worked surprisingly. Soon after she climbed into bed with him and cuddled against him, Naruto started to calm down until it looked like he wasn't having anymore nightmares.

To say Naruto was surprised when he woke up to find half-naked Sakura in his bed (not that means anything to him) was an understatement. After Sakura explained why she was in his bed, he let it go and didn't say anything when she climbed into bed with him the next night. Soon, it became an unspoken agreement that they will always sleep together, to comfort each other in their time of need.

It has been three days since the bell test. They haven't heard anything about the council that Gamabunta was bringing together but Jiraiya assured them that he hasn't forgotten them. Mitsurugi was tough in his training but it paid off. She got stronger and faster as well. He taught her tree walking and got the basis stances down already because of Sakura's smarts. Sakura also told Naruto the basics of tree walking and he practices everyday. Mitsurugi planned on starting attacks and maybe water walking if he was impressed enough.

When Sakura had the time, she went to the Hokage and asked him for somebody willing to teach Naruto sex-ed but he didn't know anyone who would do that. He would ask around but he told her that it was unlikely anybody would teach him anything. When she suggested her teachers, he refused immediately seeing how they wouldn't teach it right, seeing that they were a super-pervert and the author of Icha Icha series. That earned a vein in the forehead at the realization that she had perverts as senseis. Whether or not her father knew, she knew that he had a bookcase of the entire Icha Icha Paradise collection hidden in the closet, under a genjutsu, hidden away from her and her mother. She then started thinking of doing it herself but was rather...hesitant on doing it. After all, teaching sex-ed to a knowledge starved boy required a very detailed explanation and visual aid...which meant she would have to show off her body to Naruto. At that very thought, her inner persona passed out from blood loss. Outer Sakura also had a nosebleed, not as severe as her inner but still a nosebleed. This day was a day that Mitsurugi had given her off. He didn't tell her why, but the tiny blush that was on his face, told her that he knew what she planned on doing.

She was interrupted from her musings by a groan to her right. She turned her head around to see Naruto starting to wake up. Maybe after this day is over, he will understand the female and the male body better. Naruto cracked open one eye and saw Sakura in his vision. "Morning Sakura-chan."

"Morning Naruto-kun. How was your sleep?" He smiled.

"No nightmares, thanks to you." She chuckled and brought a hand to his cheek and started to rub one of his whiskers which made Naruto arch off the bed a little. "Sakura-channnn..." Naruto whined in a cute voice which made her giggle.

"Come on Naruto. Time to get up, it's your turn to cook breakfast today." He nodded and Sakura withdrew her hand, which resulted in a disappointing groan. Sakura rolled off the bed in search of her clean clothes after the shower. Naruto sat up as well. "By the way..." Naruto's attention was perked. "I think I finally found a sex-ed teacher for you."

"But Sakura-chan, I told you that you don't have to do that." She turned around and put her hands on her hips.

"And I told you that I would take care of you. You are hopeless now in terms of sexuality and you need to learn how things work so that you won't be taken advantage of and I don't want you to get into something you have no idea what to do and you wind up getting somebody pregnant."

"What do you mean pregnant?"

"What I mean is you getting some girl knocked up with your kid in her stomach."

"You're wrong Sakura-chan." Now Sakura was confused.

"What do you mean I'm wrong?"

"I know where kids come from." Sakura was confused.

"Oh really?" Sakura crossed her arms in defiance. "Then tell me where they come from." Naruto stood up and made a pose right as he said…

"From storks, of course." Naruto smiled, thinking he was all high and mighty.

Sakura stared at Naruto in utter disbelief before face faulting onto the ground.

Kyuubi stood there, mouth gaping open at his words.

Soul Edge just started to bang his head on a wall.

Sakura recovered herself, and looked at Naruto who still had that pose of his. "Naruto...that is so wrong." Naruto's high and mighty mood was shot down. "Babies are made in the stomach of the female and grow for nine months. We have a lot of work to do tonight." Something clicked in Naruto's head.

"Wait, does that mean that you are..." She sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm your teacher. I tried to find a different teacher but I couldn't find anyone so it is up to me now enough talk." She stated sounded perked up. "We have a lot to do today so get to cooking Uzumaki." Naruto nodded, the discussion ended as Sakura stepped into the bathroom and Naruto went into the kitchen to start cooking. Soon Sakura came out of the bathroom, garbed in a bathrobe and Naruto took his new boxers and went in. Now some of you may be wondering, how the hell did he get new boxers in the first place? Well, I'll show you…with a flashback jutsu.

* * *

_Flashback jutsu_

Naruto was excited. Why was he excited you ask? He had just gotten a big fat wallet to buy new clothes with the condition that Sakura tag along and pick out good clothes. They walked along the shopping district and went in the first clothes shop they saw…for about 5 seconds before they were kicked out. This happened 5 times and just when they were about to go into the last store, Mitsurugi intercepted them. After explaining the situation, he told them to wait until he called them. They almost ran in there when they started to hear shouts and punching noises and suddenly there was silence. The door opened and Mitsurugi stepped out, moving to the side to allow them through. They saw the owner duck behind the counter when they went in. After some pushing from her sensei, they started to pick out clothes and soon, Naruto had enough clothes to last him for a while until they need to get bigger sizes.

When they reached the counter, the man was hesitant but he managed to get the items sold at a good discount. They soon left and the genin and samurai went there separate ways.

The next day, the bodies of the shop owners that rejected Naruto were found beheaded with a note with each body saying:

_"No one hurts my master."_

Needless to say, the Hokage was baffled as to why the shop owners were harming whoever this master was.

* * *

_Flashback release_

The shower shut off and Naruto joined Sakura for breakfast. After breakfast, they cleaned up and headed out to meet their senseis for today's training. When they got there, Sakura was just about to greet them when a large poof of smoke suddenly appeared out of nowhere and Jiraiya knew who it was. The smoke cleared and Gamabunta was seen. He looked around for a moment before setting eyes on Naruto and Sakura.

"**The two of you are coming with me."** Said the toad boss before he opened his mouth and flung out his tongue and wrapped it around the shocked genins. He pulled them into his mouth and unsummoned himself, taking the children with him and leaving behind two stunned teachers and a brooding emo boy who couldn't care less. _(I really hate that guy.)_

* * *

_Summons Council Room_

Naruto and Sakura landed with a thud and the both of them recovered quickly and drew their weapons and stood up and turned around only to drop them at the sight of every animal boss. Naruto, remembering what Jiraiya told him, straightened himself up and whispered to Sakura what's going on and what to do. She nodded and straightened herself up as well. After they made themselves somewhat presentable, the biggest dragon that was there stood to his full height and addressed the council.

"Council members, we have been called because a threat that has been sealed has escaped its prison and made its way into the hands of this boy." The dragon elder spoke loud and clear. There was some murmuring. The dragon raised his claw for silence.

"My fellow creatures, Soul Edge have returned to the land of the living." There was an outburst in the room and a few creatures tried to attack Naruto but were held back by the other dragons. He allowed this to continue until he felt that they were getting tired and Naruto could hear a very quiet intake of breath before an ear-splitting roar erupted from his mouth, silencing everybody. After everybody was quieted, he waited for a moment to see if anybody would interrupt him. After seeing none, he continued. "Now then, before we take any action, we should hear from the one who possesses the sword." He turned toward Naruto who gulped at the sudden attention. "Well boy? Tell us how you gained possession of Soul Edge." Naruto gulped once again and stepped forward, bowing his head as per Jiraiya's instructions.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am the possessor of Soul Edge." Naruto then started his tale of how Soul Edge came into his hands, leaving out Kyuubi. While he talked, the bosses listened to his every word. The snake boss, Manda, looked at the girl with a curious expression. Naruto finished his talk and the bosses murmured to each other while Manda slithered his way over to the two.

"MANDA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Shouted Gamabunta, but the purple snake ignored him and started to go in circles around the two humans.

"He's telling the truth." He announced to the council. "I can feel his untainted soul keeping Soul Edge in check." Manda turned his attention to the girl. "And what about you, girl? Do you know what Soul Edge is and what it is capable of? Sakura gulped and stepped forward as much as she could to the face of the snake and bowed her head in respect.

"My name is Sakura Haruno and I do know what it is." The snake brought his head closer to Sakura.

"Do you now? And despite this knowledge, you willingly stand beside him, even at the chance he could lose the battle and strike you down?" She nodded, confident in herself. Manda continued to circle around the two children, gauging them with his silted eyes. "Tell me, do the two of you wish to sign a summoning contract?" All the animals raised a commotion at this question but they were silenced by the dragon elder. The genin nodded, not sure where this is going. "Tell you what...I'll let you sign the snake contract and I'll let you summon me cost-free..." There was an outburst from Gamabunta but he was quickly silenced. "For you and your girlfriend." Naruto and Sakura's jaw dropped to the ground.

"R-r-really?" He nodded.

"But on one condition...you keep that sword of yours in check."

"THAT'S IT!" Gamabunta jumped from his platform and landed on the opposite side of Manda. "What are you doing Manda?" Manda looked at him innocently, as innocently as a reptile could.

"Who me? I'm just acquiring another summoner." Gamabunta took out his pipe and blew the smoke out.

"What about Orochimaru?" The big snake sighed.

"I am getting tired of him. He always makes up good excuses for not bringing me my sacrifices and the few times he does, they are pathetic. I want someone better and now I found them. What are you going to do about it?" The big frog inhaled on his pipe and blew out the smoke.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to let them sign the frog contract just so I can keep an eye on you." Manda nodded.

"Shall we get our contracts?" Gamabunta nodded and at the same time, both of them disappeared in the familiar poofs of smoke. A few minutes later, another set of smoky poofs appeared and Manda and Gamabunta both appeared with big scrolls in their mouths. Manda was the first to drop the scroll in front of the still shocked genins. They looked at the scroll and saw the names in red blood but the last one, Orochimaru, was black. Gamabunta noticed that as well.

"Manda, does that mean Orochimaru is…" He trailed off. Manda nodded.

"Yes, he can no longer summon snakes."

"Does he know?" Manda chuckled.

"Not yet." By now, Naruto and Sakura had signed the snake contract and a large tattoo appeared on the left arm of both children. When asked, Manda told them that it was a snake summoning seal. All they have to do is just to store plently of chakra in there and when the times comes you have to use it, just wipe some blood on the seal and perform the summoning. It is a great thing to use when you are out of chakra. The same thing happened with the frog contract.

After everything was signed and done, the dragon elder spoke once more.

"It appears that Naruto Uzumaki is in complete control over Soul Edge and is capable of remaining in control for quite some time." The Elder looked directly at the boy. "But know this, if you lose control of it, we will take action. After all, it was with our help that Soul Edge was defeated and sealed in the first place." Naruto gulped and nodded. "Alright then, I declare this council dismissed." Every summon animal left the chamber until Naruto, Sakura, Gamabunta, and Manda were left. Sakura spoke up.

"So how are we supposed to get back?" Her question was answered by Manda putting her into his mouth as well as Gamabunta with Naruto. They disappeared, leaving the council room empty.

* * *

_Real World_

Jiraiya and Kakashi waited anxiously for Naruto and Sakura to return. Sasuke left a while ago, not caring what happened to them. Jiraiya almost punched him for that remark. There was a poof and Gamabunta appeared and spat out Naruto. There was another poof and to Jiraiya's shock, Manda appeared and Sakura climbed out of his mouth. Before Jiraiya could say anything, the both of them disappeared in giant poofs of smoke. After Naruto and Sakura both recovered just in time for Jiraiya to demand of her why she came out of Manda. The both of them started to explain what happened in the council.

* * *

_Nighttime_

"_I must be crazy doing this."_

"_**You're the one who made the decision. I didn't have any part in it."**_Inner Sakura replied smugly.

"_Shut up." _Sakura closed the link with her inner self. It was nighttime and the time for 'class' to start is near. She stood in front of her closed door where Naruto was waiting where Sakura left him. She was dressed in nothing but a bathrobe. She took a deep breath and put her hand on the door knob. She turned it and caught the attention of the occupant of the room. She opened the door and stepped through. Naruto was sitting down on his bed. He looked at her as he entered the room.

"Sakura-chan, you don't have to do this."

"Naruto-kun, we will not have this argument again. I'm doing it and that's final." Naruto gulped at the tone in her voice. "Good." She took that gulp as a sign that he won't argue. "Now..." Sakura's hands went to the knot holding her robe together. "Let's start with the basics." She undid the knot and let her robe fall around her. Naruto stared at her nude body and he felt a nosebleed coming down.

Sakura just stood there and when she saw the nosebleed coming down from his nose, she felt good that he thinks she looks good. She walked up to him but when she was about to say something, she heard a female voice that sounded like it came from the opposite side of the door.

"NAAARRRUUUTTTOOO-KKKUUUNN! SSSAAAKKKURRRAAA-CHAAANNN! HAVE YOU STARTED YET?" The door burst opened and there stood a female with purple hair and full body fishnet that left nothing to the imagination. She also wore a miniskirt and wore a trench coat (I think) and she was holding a black bag. Behind her, was a very embarrassed Iruka. The woman locked eyes on the duo. "Ah, so you did start." She then turned to Iruka. "Remember what I told you?" He nodded and went and sat down in the corner. She turned back to the two children. "Sakura-chan, the Hokage mentioned your little 'class' and I thought I would be the teacher." She said with a devilish smile on her face. "But I see you have started already." Her face turned regretful. "It's such a shame too. I brought some stuff with me to help." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura shouted, halting the woman in her tracts, a grin present on her face.

"So you want me to help?" A faint nod was seen. A full blown grin appeared. "Great, my name is Anko Mitarashi and dolphin boy over there." She pointed to Iruka. "Is going to help me with the last part but for now, let's get started." Sakura just stood there and watched as Anko took off all her clothes and did nothing as Anko took her hand and put her on the bed. "Now Naruto-kun, pay very close attention. I'm going to teach you all about the female body starting with these." She fondled Sakura's breasts, which earned a squirm from Sakura. Naruto crawled closer, paying close attention.

"Only females have breasts and their purpose is to draw the male's attention like the perverts they are and also to provide milk for the baby when it is born." Seeing Naruto's confused look, she explained further. "See these?" She pointed to the nipples. He nodded. "They are nipples and when a baby sucks on them, milk comes out." He nodded in understanding. Anko started to move her hands lower, much to the discomfort of Sakura, which Anko ignored. "Now this thing is important." Anko pointed to the vagina. Naruto leaned in closer for a better look, which made Sakura blush then Anko said something that nearly caused her to abandon the whole thing and run out of the room. "Go ahead and touch it if you want." Anko kept Sakura were she was when she tried to close her legs. Naruto, being the curious person that he is, brought his hand forward and touched a vagina for the first time. His touch sent shivers throughout Sakura's body. Naruto prodded her until he discovered that there was an opening. Naruto tried to open it and look inside but it was too dark.

"I can't see inside." Anko grinned as Sakura kept from moaning.

"I have just the thing." She reached inside her little black bag and pulled out what looked to be prongs of some sort and a flashlight. She handed them to Naruto and told him what to do with it. Naruto followed her instructions and soon got the vagina open to the world. Naruto turn on the flashlight and looked inside

"A-anko-sensei, i-is this really necessary?" Sakura said with obvious effort trying to hold back from moaning. If anything the grin on her face became bigger.

"I'm a hand-on's kind of person." Sakura gasped as Naruto started to feel the inside of her body.

"I don't get it. What is it for and what's that wall thingy?" Anko held on to Sakura as Naruto started to poke some more, she could feel him getting near her G-spot.

"That wall is the hymen and it breaks when a girl first has sex or if the girl moves around so much that it breaks on its own. The vagina is where the penis enters during sex." Naruto looked up from between Sakura's legs.

"What's a penis?" Both Sakura and Anko both stared at him in disbelief. Anko, snapping out of her shock, ordered Naruto to take off his pants and boxers. Naruto just did it, seeing nothing wrong with it. When the boxers reached his feet, both females stared at his manhood, or rather the _size_ of his manhood. Sakura had a nosebleed while Anko whistled. Naruto was huge for a twelve year old. Sakura looked at his member, then looked at her own entrance and had one thought.

"_That can't fit in me, will it?"_ Naruto saw the looks that he got and reached the wrong conclusion.

"Yeah, its ugly isn't it? I keep cutting it off but it keeps coming back. It isn't supposed to be there right?" There were three shouts and Naruto suddenly found himself being shook to hell by two pissed off looking females and Iruka.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT YOUR PENIS IS?"

"NARUTO! AS YOUR ACADEMY TEACHER, I ORDER YOU NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN!"

This continued for a while and after everyone calmed down and Iruka was sent back to his corner, Naruto tried to find out what was going on.

"Naruto, listen to me very carefully, your penis is necessary for you to have kids. If you do that again and if it doesn't grow back..." Anko left it hanging. Naruto gulped, starting to understand. Anko sighed and muttered to herself. _"And the next thing he'll tell me is what's an orgasm."_ Naruto heard it clearly.

"What's an orgasm?" Anko nearly fainted and the look that was on his face told her that he wasn't kidding.

"You mean to tell me that you haven't had an orgasm in your entire life?" He shook his head.

"_Kami, what have they done to him?"_ Was the thought of both kuniochi. An evil idea came to Anko's mind, which caused her to grin like a madman, or in the case, madwoman. "Oh, Sakuraaa-chaan..." Anko said in a playful voice which set off warnings in Sakura's mind.

"Y-yes?"

"This boy says that he have never experienced an orgasm. Am I right?' Slowly, she nodded her head

"Weeell, I think you should give him one...by giving him a blowjob." Anko mentally laughed at the expression on Sakura's face.

"B-but...I...he..." Anko silenced her with her finger.

"Why not? If he experiences it and discovers how it feels, he won't be cutting it off anytime soon because he would want more of it." Sakura nearly died. What she said was true, if he did experience it and like it, he wouldn't cut off his manhood anymore but that meant giving him the experience more then once after this night is over. After thinking about it some more, with the help of Inner Sakura, she hesitantly nodded, agreeing to it. She turned her head around to see Naruto sitting with his legs crossed. She gulped then slowly crawled over to Naruto.

"Naruto." She said, getting his attention. "I hope that after this experience that you won't cut it off anymore. Naruto didn't know what she was talking about but what ever he was going to say next was cut off when a moan escaped his lips as Sakura started to stroke him. Sakura pushed Naruto so that he lied flat on his back. Now that he was in a better position, she got to work. She started to use her other hand and was giving him light strokes and a few minutes of that and his member was standing at attention. Sakura gasped at the size. It was even bigger then she thought it was.

Taking a deep breath, she brought her head down and started to lick the tip with her tongue, which earned a louder moan from Naruto. She looked up to him and saw he had his eyes closed and he was breathing heavily.

"What...what is this feeling?" Naruto managed to get out. Anko answered him, seeing Sakura was...busy at the moment.

"Just enjoy it Naruto-kun, you'll like it." Naruto let out another moan as Sakura started to take his member into her mouth. She continued until she couldn't take anymore in. Anko, seeing this, whispered into her ear. _"Just relax your throat and you can take all of him in."_ Sakura took her advice and she managed to get all of him in and sealed her lips and started to suck lightly on him. Naruto arched off the bed and Sakura nearly chocked but she held him steady. She started to move her head up and down, while still sucking and using her tongue and within minutes of doing this, Naruto's body fell stiff and the pressure that was building up in Naruto finally released and Naruto came with a loud cry, yelling Sakura's name as well. Rope after rope of cum squirted into Sakura's mouth and she had trouble swallowing it, but she didn't get it all as some leaked out of her mouth.

Finally, Naruto's orgasm ceased and Sakura swallowed the last of the fluid that was left in her mouth that didn't fall out. Sakura removed her mouth from his manhood and coughed a little from the taste and smell of it. She looked at Naruto's face and smiled. He had the biggest smile that she had ever seen on his face and his face was is in dazed expression. She could tell he loved it. She crawled up to him.

"So, did you like it?" She needed to hear it from him. He turned and looked at her, still feeling high.

"You better believe it." She chuckled.

"If you want, I can do it frequently." Sakura thought that Naruto's face was going to break from the smile that was on it.

"Really?" She nodded.

"Alright kiddies." Sakura jumped. She forgot about Anko. "Now that that's over, it's time for the last part of the show, sex! Iruka!" Iruka jumped at his name and turned around to face a grinning Anko and he knew he was in trouble. Both Sakura and Naruto watched as Anko ripped off his clothes off a struggling Iruka and started to demonstrate what sex is.

Then after the sex, Anko explained more about sex and where babies came from.

Needless to say, when they went to bed tonight, both of them had wet dreams of each other in various positions.

* * *

Alright, this was a good chapter. I think I did pretty well. Also, where the hell did my reviewers go? I loved seeing those reviews and it makes me inspired to write. The ending may suck because it is 11:00 right now and I am tired as hell. 

There was a slight change of plans for this chapter. I wanted to do Sakura's parents but plans change. Heh, story of my life.

Anyho, PLEASE REVIEW! IT INSPIRES ME TO WRITE!!!!!!

_Spoiler Opportunity_

_Guess the next Soul Caliber character appearance and get a free spoiler. So far, nobody has guessed. One vote each._

Next chapter: Sakura's parents early arrival, Mission to wave.


	6. Disturbing Events

_**Naruto Uzumaki…Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

_A few weeks later_

It has been a few weeks since Naruto learned what sex was. Ever since, every time Naruto looked at Sakura, he blushed and looked away. The same thing happened to Sakura. After a couple of weeks, the images that always pops into their heads started to go away.

Naruto had finally mastered the tree walking and was learning water walking from Sakura. He managed to get Jiraiya to show him and Sakura the summoning jutsu and started practicing. The first time they practiced, Naruto summoned a tadpole while Sakura managed a very small snake. Up till now, Sakura managed to summon a large snake and frog while Naruto didn't get past the small ones. It wasn't until last week that Naruto made a breakthrough. With a little help from Kyuubi, who went overboard with the chakra, Naruto summoned Manda for the first time. Needless to say, Sakura was jealous and didn't concentrate and put all of her chakra, and I mean all, into the summoning and summoned Gamabunta. Sakura cheered then fell flat on her back, passed out from chakra exhaustion.

Saying Naruto was worried was an understatement. When she fell, Naruto stopped in his cheering on top of Manda's head and rushed toward her. Naruto panicked because he didn't know what to do so Manda, being the generous snake that he is, told Naruto to put her on his head and he'll take her to the hospital. The Hokage was stunned when he saw Manda slither on by with Naruto and an unconscious Sakura on his head, heading toward the hospital. This hospital admitted Sakura but told Naruto to stay away. Manda responded in kind by swallowing the person and nobody argued when Naruto was bumped into the building by Manda. There were smaller poofs and medium sized snakes came into existence and they followed Naruto into the hospital to keep an eye on him. Needless to say, the hospital staff left him alone.

When Sakura woke up a couple of days later, she was greeted by the sight of Naruto snoring and drooling on her leg and several snakes on her bed and around her. She turned her head to see the front of her bed and was met face to face with a snake. She fainted, waking up Naruto who tried to get her up again.

After much shaking, poking and prodding, and tickling, Sakura woke up and seeing Naruto's worried face, assured him that she was alright. During the stay at the hospital, she was visited by many people, including her sensei's. During her time alone, she thought a great deal about what to do when her parents discovered that she let Naruto move in with her, never mind the fact that's she sleeping with him. She sighed. She would have to make the best of it when it comes. The next day, she was allowed to go home with strict orders to stay in bed for the next couple of days, accompanied by Naruto, to fully recover her chakra and this is where we find her, the next day.

* * *

_Gate_

"I can't believe that we finished our mission so early." A pink haired medic stood in front of the Konoha gates with her husband.

"I know, won't Sakura be surprised?"

"I'm sure she will be dear."

* * *

_House_

"Naruto, for the last time. I'm alright, I just need rest." Said Sakura for the millionth time as Naruto stayed by her side, literally.

"But…you could have died." She sighed again.

"Yeah, I could but thanks to you I didn't." Her words had little effect on him as he looked at her with those cute eyes. She sighed again. "Look, I'm going to go to bed now, if you want to join me…" Sakura didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Naruto jumped into bed and cuddled against her. Sakura giggled at what Naruto was doing. His face looked so cute. Sakura finally gave in and let sleep overcome her.

* * *

_Later_

_Tap…tap…tap_

Sakura was stirring in her sleep. A tapping sound was keeping her from going back to sleep.

_Tap…tap…tap_

"_**Ugh, go away and let me sleep."**_ Inner Sakura tried to get it to go away.

_Tap…tap…tap_

Sakura cracked opened an eye, intent on making the tapping go away. Her eye fully opened and she paused.

A second passed.

Her eyes snapped open and a gasp left her mouth as she shot up in bed, waking her companion. Naruto looked up at Sakura who had a look of horror on her face. He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and looked in the direction of where Sakura was staring at. When his eyes met the sight, he froze as well.

There stood in the doorway, was Sakura's parents, both with an angry look on their face, staring at Sakura. A couple of moments went by with nothing said until…

"M-mom, dad, what are you doing here so early?"

"Not early enough. Why are you in bed with a boy?" The tone that came out of the mother was enough to make them flinch.

"And who is he anyway? I…" The father trailed off, finally getting a good look at the boy. His eyes narrowed in coldness which made Naruto flinch at the sight and Sakura felt it and saw her father's eye. _"You."_ He said with so malice in his voice. Sakura and Naruto flinched again when they heard that tone. Sakura had never heard it coming from her father and Naruto, because he still wasn't used to it. Sakura thought to try to salvage the situation while she could.

"Listen, it's not what you think."

"Oh? What are we supposed to think seeing him in the same bed as you?" This time the mother spoke up. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she explained.

"You have been gone for a while and many things happened, things that changed my view on things. When Naruto's apartment burned down, I let him move in and I was kind of hoping that you will let him stay." Sakura's mother expression changed to an understanding one but the father seemed to be madder.

"You let that…_demon_ stay in _our_ house?" Sakura could feel Naruto tense up at the word 'demon'. Sakura's mother sent her husband a warning look, but he ignored it.

"Why do you insist that he's a demon? He's nothing but a boy who everybody hates for no reason at all." Her father's face turned into a snarl.

"You say that he is hated for no reason at all? There is a reason and I'll tell you." Sakura's mother, figuring out where this is going, tried to stop her husband but she was sent flying by his slap. Sakura and Naruto were only able to just sit there as they couldn't move because they were afraid. The seething man took a few steps forward and Sakura found herself trying to go back but was stopped by the wall. "The reason why that thing is hated is because he has the Kyuubi sealed in him." Sakura stared at her father in shock before turning to Naruto, who had his head down, as if he was trying to pretend he didn't exist. Somehow, the news didn't shock her as much seeing how he was treated by everybody. She knew there was a reason but she certainly didn't expect this. Sakura felt his hand leave hers, like he was ashamed for her to be touching him.

"_So that's why."_

"_**Yeah."**_

"_You knew?"_

"_**Yeah, I could feel him keeping Soul Edge in control along with Naruto."**_

"_Does Naruto think I hate him now?"_

"_**Most likely.**_

"_I should say something to him."_

"_**You better."**_

Sakura snapped back into the real world and took Naruto's hand into hers. She could feel him stiffen. "Naruto." She tried to get him to look at her but he didn't budge. "Naruto, look at him." He still didn't budge so she cupped his face and forced him to look at her. She could see the sadness in his eyes. "Naruto, I don't hate you."

"But you know about Kyuubi now." Sakura could tell he was protecting himself.

"I do but I don't hate you for it. If anything, you should be appreciated for holding him back." She could see a change. The mask was cracking. Sakura brought him into a hug to let him know that she was here for him. After a minute, a sound interrupted them and she turned around to face her father, clearly pissed, and her mother was knocked out.

"_Get…out and never come back!"_ Sakura, not wanting to face her father's wrath, grabbed Naruto and jumped out of the window, with Sakura wearing her nightgown and Naruto, in his boxers.

They landed in the street and they just…ran. They ran with no destination in mind. They didn't notice the green blur headed where they just came from. They ran until Naruto and Sakura finally collapsed in the forest. It was then that Sakura and Naruto both started crying. As they let out their grief, they didn't notice that it started raining. They held on to each other, trying to comfort each other. As they cried, they heard a song playing in the night, mostly likely coming from the rock concert nearby.

**_Never again will I be dishonored  
And never again will I be reminded  
We're living within the world of the jaded  
They killed inspiration  
It's my obligation  
To never again, allow this to happen  
Where do I begin?  
The choices are endless  
Denying the sin  
My art, my redemption  
I carry the torch of my fathers before me_**

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die  
Lonely, we'll not understand  
I will make the greatest sacrifice  
You can't predict where the outcome lies  
You'll never take me alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive

Danger, then, cannot be considered  
I rage again, dispelling my anger  
Where do I begin?  
The choices are endless  
My art, my redemption, my only salvation  
I carry the gift that I have been blessed with  
My soul is adrift in notions of madness  
Repairing the rift that you have created  
I am not alone, brothers, give me your arms now

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die  
Lonely, we'll not understand  
I will make the greatest sacrifice  
You can't predict where the outcome lies  
You'll never take me alive

I'm no slave  
Are you feeling brave?  
Or have you gone out of your mind?  
No more games  
It won't feel the same  
If I hold my anger inside  
There's no meaning  
My soul is bleeding  
I've had enough of your kind  
One suggestion, use your discretion  
Before you label it lie

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die  
Lonely, we'll not understand  
I will make the greatest sacrifice  
You can't predict where the outcome lies  
You'll never take me alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive 

The song ended and both Sakura and Naruto both calmed down and soon fell asleep in each other's embrace, but the weird part was that Soul Edge didn't take any actions to take control of Naruto, much to Kyuubi's surprise. There were 2 giant poofs of smoke and several smaller ones. The smoke cleared and Manda and Gamabunta appeared, as well as several snakes and frogs. The two bosses looked at them with sympathy in their eyes. They too felt the emotions that ran through them from the contract. The snakes and frogs gathered around them and on them in an attempt to keep them warm. Manda wrapped his body around the tree with plenty of extra space to shield them from outside dangers and Gamabunta took off his coat and placed over the hole, protecting them from the rain. There they stayed, watching over their charges.

* * *

_The Next Morning_

The sun hit Sakura in the eyes and despite her attempts to block it out, she woke up and tried to move only to discover that she couldn't. She opened her eyes to an unusual sight. Both Manda and Gamabunta were seen arguing with Jiraiya and the Hokage. Kakashi was just enjoying the show, along with Mitsurugi. She looked down, just now feeling warmth, to see several snakes and frogs on her and Naruto who, by the looks of it, was starting to wake up as well. They must have fallen asleep and they kept them warm. The snakes and frogs, sensing that their pillow was waking up, looked up and seeing that she was indeed wake, jumped/slithered off of her and him. That caught the attention of everybody else. All the adults came up to them and started to ask questions.

"Are you alright?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Did you see who it was?"

Sakura was confused. Why were they asking them that? Mitsurugi kept quiet and saw the expression that his student had.

"She doesn't know." Each of them turned toward the samurai.

"Doesn't know what?" Sakura asked, trying to get to the bottom of this. There was silence and then the Hokage cleared his throat.

"Sakura, your father was murdered last night." Sakura didn't know what to say, but one question came to mind.

"How do you know he didn't kill himself?" Weird question to ask when you just found out your father was dead.

"He was beheaded."

"Oh."

"Sakura, what happened last night?" Jiraiya asked her. She felt tears building up as she remembered what happened. She took a deep breath and started to recount her tale. As she told her tale, Naruto kept silent and took Sakura's hand in his and felt her squeeze it in assurance that everything will be alright.

She soon finished her tale, and everybody was silent, even the summons. After a moment or two, he instructed the sensei's to take them to the hospital and get them checked over.

While in the hospital, their sensei's took turns watching the children. The door opened and Sakura's mother came in. Both her and Sakura looked at each other for a moment before running toward each other and started to cry into each other's arms. Naruto just watched them, not entirely sure that this moment was for him as well.

Soon after the doctors checked them, they were allowed to go home. When it came time to leave, Naruto stayed behind, thinking he wasn't welcome anymore. Sakura noticed this and, with a nod from her mother, went up to him and grabbed his hand and started to drag him toward her home, kicking and screaming. When they finally reached their home, Naruto demanded why he was dragged into an unwelcome home. That earned him a slap on the face and a teary eyed Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, did you think that all time that we spent together and all we did, do you honestly think that you aren't welcome anymore?" Silence met Sakura as she stared into his eyes. She could see that he was trying to protect himself. The pink-haired woman watched the scene with her eyes and decided that it was her turn. She walked up to Naruto and gave him a big embrace which silenced his arguing.

"Naruto-kun, you are always welcome in my home and if Sakura is okay with you, it is okay with me. I don't hate you for holding Kyuubi and I don't blame you for my husband." It was true that she didn't blame him. She saw the green woman behead the man she called husband with the words…_"I live to protect my master and protect him I shall."_ She figured out, after some thinking, that her master was Naruto, whether he knew it or not and he probably didn't know it. Naruto looked up from the embraced and her heart nearly melted at the grateful face that he was giving her.

"You'll really let me live with Sakura?" She nodded.

"I'll let you stay with my daughter but on one condition." Naruto gulped seeing the serious face. She waited a moment, letting the fear sink in before continuing. "The two of you tell me _everything_ and I mean _everything_ that happened between the two of you while we were away." She finished with a sadistic grin on her face that made both Naruto and Sakura gulp in fear. Sakura knew her mother was telling the truth. In her experience, her mother had ways of making her talk.

* * *

_A month later_

It has been a month since Sakura's parents came back and since Azien Haruno died at the hands of an unknown woman. When his funeral came around, both Sakura and Katsumi Haruno went to it, and surprisingly Naruto came as well. The funeral went by without a hitch, unless you call the priest saying Naruto was an unholy being. That earned him a snake bite later delivered from Sakura.

When it came time for the debriefing, they tried everything they could to avoid it. There are some things that Sakura don't really want to say to her mother about what she did, but there was one problem with that.

She was ALWAYS one step ahead of them.

By the end of three weeks of mother evading, numerous pranks, even trying to get her sick, they gave up and told her everything. It went fine at first but when they got to the part of her 'class' and what happened during the 'class'. After they finished talking, they waited for the explosion to occur but it never came. Opening their eyes, they saw her face devoid of any emotion. She suddenly stood up, causing the two to jump in fright. They watched her as she walked into her bedroom, stood at the foot of her bed and...fainted.

Sakura thought it was best to leave her alone for the time being.

The next morning during breakfast, she didn't say a word. She just sat there eating her breakfast vigorously while staring at Naruto.

Naruto couldn't get out of the house fast enough when it came time to go.

When they came home at the end of the day, they were greeted by a scary sight. Naruto was being glomped to death by Katsumi. Sakura knew that it meant that she accepted it. Naruto realized it too, if the smile on his face was indication.

Life soon returned to normal for Sakura and Naruto and they were just heading toward the Hokage's office to receive their next mission.

"WHAT?" Naruto couldn't believe the news that he just heard. It was impossible. It couldn't happen in a place like this but it did. "You're out of missions?" The Hokage nodded solemnly. They had plenty of missions but when word got out of Naruto doing missions, the ones who asked for D-rank immediately pulled their requests back, leaving barely anything left. Eventually, the Hokage had to start requesting jobs himself but that didn't last for very long. Now the impossible has happened. There were no more D-rank missions left. Even Sasuke was shocked.

"But I have a surprise for you." Naruto perked up. "Since you have been doing so well in your training, I have decided to give you a C-rank mission." That's the only thing he can do. Once Naruto was out of the village and the village knew it, missions would start coming in again, at least, until they come back in a month. He cleared his throat, silencing the cheering done by Naruto. "Now then, your mission is to guard a client while he completes his work in the Land of Waves." Something clicked in Jiraiya's mind. He turned to the door. "You can come in now." The door slide open and a drunk-looking man stepped in holding a sake bottle. He took one look at them.

"What? You got kids to protect me? What good can they do, especially the short one?" Naruto laughed, not realizing that he was the short one. Both Sakura and Sasuke stood next to him and it was then that Naruto realized that he was the short one. A vein appeared on his forehead and started running but was stopped by Kakashi who just sighed.

"Naruto, we are supposed to protect the client, not kill him." Naruto grumbled a bit before stopping his attempts to maul the drunken man. As he talked about his mission, Jiraiya listened and watched him, trying to figure out exactly was going on. After the Hokage dismissed them, he stayed behind.

"Sarutobi-sensei?"

"Mmm?"

"You said that this was a C-rank didn't you?" He nodded.

"Thanks." Jiraiya left, leaving the Hokage to wonder why he asked that.

* * *

_Gate_

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs. Everybody had to cover their ears at the loudness at his voice.

"Dobe, would you just shut up?" Naruto scowled at Sasuke-teme.

"Just because you never shouted before, doesn't mean that I don't have too." Sasuke looked away grumbling.

"Why are you so excited about leaving anyway?" Sakura asked.

"Because it is my first time out of the village." Naruto responded gleefully and Sakura understood. He's happy because it will give him a break from all this hate that he receives from this village on a daily basis. She nodded and with their sensei's took their first steps out of the village and onto the unknown.

* * *

Four pairs of eyes watched the travelers with calculation eyes. They watched for a while before disappearing.

* * *

Team 7 had been on the road for a while and Naruto took in all that there was to look at. He had many questions and Sakura answered them with some commentary from Kakashi and Jiraiya. They were walking along a dirt road when they passed by a puddle. Two pairs of eyes were drawn to it as they passed but didn't do anything. A minute passed after they passed the puddle and nothing happened but the puddle rippled and two figures emerged from it. They charged the travelers and they turned around, poised to attack but at the same time, two more attackers came out of the trees and charged at them. 

Right as they were about to strike, some _thing_ came out of the woods and knocked two attackers back, then he disappeared after spinning in what looked to be lighting and knocked the others back. He disappeared and reappeared in front of the group, body in a pose and shouted.

"I am Yoshimitsu...Behold my magnificence." Sweat drops appeared on the back of everybody's heads. One thought ran through everybody's minds.

"_Who is this guy?"_

The bandits recovered and the person who called himself Yoshimitsu rushed toward the ones in front of him while Kakashi and Jiraiya took care of the ones behind them. A moment passed and one of the bandits that were fighting Kakashi slipped passed him and rushed toward the group that's guarding Tazuna as well as another that managed to slip by Yoshimitsu. Sasuke wasted no time in taking care of the one behind them as Sakura and Naruto took care of the one in front of them. Sakura drew her sword and blocked the clawed strike. Now that she got a good look at her attacker, she could see a Mist headband with a line going through it. She knew what that meant.

He was a missing nin from the Hidden Mist.

The _nuke-nin_ was thrown back by Naruto's clones grabbing the back of his cloak and yanking him away, right into the path of Soul Edge coming down to take off his head. The mist nin managed to duck in time to avoid losing his head but ending up into the path of another sword. He jumped away from it...just to fall into the hands, or rather fist of Jiraiya, who knocked him out cold. Jiraiya flung the ninja across his shoulder. "You two alright?" They nodded as Sakura put her sword back in the scabbard and Naruto put Soul Edge back on his back. Yoshimitsu walked up to them and dropped them besides the two missing nins. After interrogating the bandits and missing nins, they learned that they were hired by Gatou and sent to kill the old man. When they finished talking, Jiraiya and Kakashi turned to Tazuna and said one sentence that he really didn't want to hear.

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

Alright, I think I'm going to stop it here. I did a lot this chapter and it is about time for a new one. The song in this chapter is _**I'm Alive**_ by _**Disturbed**_. Find it on Youtube and listen to it while you read. It's good. 

If there is anything you don't like, tell me and I will do better. Read and review and tell me what you think.

Sorry, no spoiler opportunity this time.


	7. The Nightmare is unleashed

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 6**_

* * *

_AN: Naruto and Sakura and the rest of the genin are 12._

* * *

_A few days later_

It has been a few days since those bandits/missing nins attacked the group. Yoshimitsu took the bandits and left, saying that he shall meet them again soon. After he left, both Jiraiya and Kakashi made Tazuna spill his guts about the real reason why he requested a C-rank mission when it should have been a B-rank, at least. Tazuna explained that he was building a bridge that would connect to the mainland and then Gatou would be put out of business. After he finished, the reactions were half and half. Eventually, Kakashi asked who wanted to continue on with the mission and who didn't. First he asked for the nays, Sasuke shot up his hand but he was the only one. When Kakashi asked for the yays, everybody's hand shot up, including Jiraiya's. That settled it as they continued on their mission.

Nobody noticed the crows watching them.

They walked the path for a couple of days and the beginning of the second day; everybody had a feeling of foreboding. A few minutes passed and there was a whistling sound in the air. Kakashi recognized the sound and shouted.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Kakashi grabbed Tazuna and dragged him down while everybody else ducked just in time for a zanbatou narrowly missing them and embed itself into a tree and a man landed on it and he laughed.

"Well well, looks like you ducked just in time." Everybody got up to look at the newcomer. _AN: I don't know how to describe his clothes so just look him up._

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto demanded.

"Momochi Zabuza, or as the bingo book calls me, the demon of the Hidden Mist."

Kakashi and Jiraiya's eyes widened and were about to say something but Naruto beat them to it.

"I don't care who you are. I'm still going to take you down." Zabuza laughed.

"Tough words coming from a little kid, I just want the old man; I have no quarrel with you." Naruto smirked and reached behind him, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

"If you want him..." Naruto drew his sword and Zabuza's eyes widened. "You are going to have to get by me."

"And us." Jiraiya and Kakashi appeared on both sides of Naruto. There was a low whistle coming from Zabuza.

"That's an impressive sword you got there but its not the size of the sword that counts." Zabuza disappeared. "It's the skill!" Zabuza shouted appearing in front of Naruto; swung his zanbatou down on Naruto who blocked it. Naruto took a quick glance at Tazuna. Sakura and Sasuke were beside him, weapons drawn, watching them. Naruto steeled himself, waiting for the chance to strike while Kakashi and Jiraiya kept Zabuza busy.

* * *

_Meanwhile_

Tira watched the fight from her perch on top of the trees. She watched as her master, Naruto, fight alongside his sensei's against the Demon of the Mist. She knew his history as he was well known within her former organization. He managed to graduate the ninja academy by killing every single teacher and student in his class. She was impressed with him. He was her hero when she was a kid. Maybe if things go right, she can fight against him. She snapped out of her musings by a sudden fog. It wasn't that dense but she could still see through it. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It looks like Zabuza's water clones making a sneak attack. A very creepy smile made its way onto her face. Maybe she can get her wish after all. Grabbing her ring blade, she launched it toward the clones and jumping after it. After the blade destroyed the clones, she grabbed it and launched it toward the real, shocked Zabuza. He recovered just in time to block the weapon from taking his head back and jumped back from a swipe of the blade carried by a green hair woman.

The others watched in fascination as this newcomer that appeared out of nowhere and started to go head to head with Zabuza. The woman stopped, turned around, and gave Naruto a wink and kiss. Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Naruto wondered why she just did that but his answer came from his sword.

"_**My servant."**_

"_What did you just say?"_

"_**She is my servant. I gave her the gift of life in exchange for her servitude."**_

"_If that's true, then why is she not holding you?"_

"_**She was."**_ Naruto and Kyuubi's eyes widened. _**"She was my last possessor and still would be if it wasn't for those blasted Kages and their animals. It was because of the first Kages of all the villages and the summon animals that I was defeated and sealed in the first place. She barely got away."**_

"…"

"_Whoa…"_

Naruto snapped out of his amazement to see Zabuza launch a giant vortex of water at the girl but then she did something. She braced like she was going to throw it but something happened, something that looked very, very similar to his soul charge. Her body glowed light green, then regular green, then blue and the glow moved to her hands and then she threw her ring blade, with fire and lighting following the wake of the blade. The two attacks met and there was steam as the ring sliced its way through the vortex.

Zabuza dodged just in time for the ring to appear and strike the spot where he was just in seconds ago. The ground exploded and Zabuza was flown back and struck a tree very hard but not breaking it. The girl retrieved her blade and was about to throw it but was stopped when 4 senbon needles struck Zabuza in the neck, killing him instantly, or so it seems. The girl stopped in her tracks when a boy came down, wearing a mask on his face with the mist symbol on the top of his mask.

"I thank you for finding my target for me and for wearing him down." This seemed to anger the girl as her lips turned into a snarl.

"Get out of the way. This is my kill." The boy spoke again.

"He is my target and I will dispose of him." An audible snarl was heard from the green girl.

"I said, this is my kill. Now move or I'll tear you limb from limb." The girl grabbed her ring and moved to strike but the boy jumped back, hosted Zabuza onto his back, and transported away. This caused the girl to throw her blade at the spot where they just were. She was mad. "Dammit, I wanted to kill him." The mist disappeared and the girl went over to her weapon and picked it up and started to walk over to the group, but as she walked a couple of steps, she grabbed her side in pain and discovered that she had a gash at her side. She smirked weakly before falling to the ground unconscious. The last thing she saw was her master and his companions rushing toward her.

* * *

_Later at Tazuna's house_

Within a room of a house that was owned by Tazuna, a slumbering figure groaned, alerting the other occupant of the room to the female. Sensing somebody over her, she cracked open an eye and saw blonde hair and blue eyes. He turned his head and shouted something and a second later, the door opened and another person stepped into the room and into her view. This time with gravity defying grey hair and one eye covered. He looked like a scarecrow somehow.

"You alright miss?" She turned over to see the blond hair and blue eyes again. Now that she can see his full face, she recognized him and smiled.

"Master." His face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why do you call me master?"

"Cause that's what you are. You are my master, you and Soul Edge." Naruto twitched.

"Why would you serve a sword like this?"

"Because he saved me and gave me his life." Naruto thought for a moment and it was clear from his expression that he still didn't understand that last part. Kakashi thought it was time for him to speak.

"So, what's your name?"

"Tira, what's yours?" She asked.

"Kakashi Hatake. That's Naruto Uzumaki."

"I know that." She replied coldly. "Where am I?"

"You are at Tazuna's house. You've been out for a few days." Tira groaned and tried to sit up but was pushed down by Kakashi gently. "Easy now, you still need to recover from your wounds. He got you good." At the mention of Zabuza, her eyes snapped open.

"Where is that bastard?" She demanded. She tried to sit up again but was pushed down by Kakashi again.

"Relax, he's dead."

"No he's not. That freak with the mask took him away to protect him." Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I killed a lot of people and I know when someone is trying to protect something." Kakashi nodded and got up and turned to leave.

"I'll go tell the others. In the meantime Naruto, you stay here with Tira and make sure she gets rest." Naruto nodded and Tira, after Kakashi back was turned, tried to get up but this time Naruto pushed her down.

"Tira, as your master, I order you to lie down and rest." Tira looked at Naruto for a moment and nodded, not wanting to disobey her master.

* * *

_A week later_

It has been a week since Tira woke up. By the end of the third day, she was able to get up and walk around. She spent that time at Naruto's side. After a day of Sakura glaring and uncomfortable closeness, she ordered Tira to enjoy the sights. She reluctantly obeyed her master, glaring at the smug-looking pink haired girl as she passed. Jiraiya tried to flirt with such a good looking girl, but he quickly learned that ring blade of hers wasn't just for show. Sasuke was learning tree walking from Kakashi. When he asked why Naruto and Sakura weren't with him, he found out that they already learned tree walking and water walking. You can imagine the blow to his pride when he heard that. During dinner one night, Inari, Tazuna's grandson, came down and basically made a speech about how they were all going to die and no one can escape their fate. Naruto responded in kind by saying that everybody has control over their lives and such and such. _(I told you that I wasn't a patient man, didn't I?)_ At the end of the sixth day, Naruto overdid himself with training and passed out, but not before meeting a girl who taught him a important lesson about precious people and then finding out that she's a he. Sakura brought him back to the house and she slept with him all through out the night. The next morning, Kakashi told Tsunami to tell Naruto that he had a day off from training so he could recover. Naruto woke up the next day and saw that the sun was already high in the sky. That's when he realized that they left him behind. Tsunami popped in and told him what Kakashi told her. Naruto groaned and flung off the covers and got dressed. That's when he heard a crashing noise from downstairs...

* * *

_Bridge_

A heavy fog has settled on the bridge and they knew who it was. A deep voice chuckled in the fog. They turned around to the source of the sound and saw Zabuza and the so-called hunter nin besides him.

"Hehe, ready for round 2, Kakashi?"

"We're prepared for you this time, Zabuza." Said Kakashi.

"Hehe, not this time you're not." Zabuza gestured to the boy besides him and turned to him. "Take care of the old man, Haku." He nodded and Zabuza faced the group. He disappeared along with Kakashi and Jiraiya but not before saying something.

"Guard the bridge builder. This is a very thick fog so we might have some problems." The voice faded into the darkness of the fog and Sakura, Sasuke, Tazuna, and Tira were alone. Tira still hasn't recovered yet so she can't fight much. A voice came out but it wasn't from their teachers.

"Give me the bridge builder and I will spare your lives." Everybody tensed up. They said nothing back. "I will ask you one more time, give me the man and I'll spare your lives." A figure stepped out of the fog and into view.

"No." Sakura stated with confidence in her voice but she was a little afraid. She could hear the boy sigh.

"Very well." He disappeared from view and they all jumped back, dodging the barrage of senbon that came into view. Sakura and Sasuke drew their shurikens and threw them in the direction where the senbon came from. "I'm impressed. You managed to dodge my senbon even in this fog but…" A figure materialized above them and slammed down onto the ground, separating everybody. "You are no match for me." Sakura was separated from the rest and couldn't see them. She tensed up when she heard the same voice. "I don't want to kill you but I will if I have too." Sakura gripped the handle of her sword tighter.

"Shut up and let's fight."

"Very well." Sakura heard a distinct cracking sound and the mist parted and she saw that she was surrounded in a dome of ice mirrors.

"_Crap."_ She said to herself as the assault began. Sakura dodge the barrage of kunai, but she felt senbon strike her side. Grunting in pain, she pulled them out. Seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, she blocked the senbon.

"_He must be using the mirrors to strike different places at the same time. If I can just…"_ Remembering the move combo that her sensei taught her, she hoped that she can at least break a mirror. Concentrating, she activated soul charge to the first level and got into a stance that has the sword back in the sheathe and her in a stance. Opening her eyes, she charged the nearest mirror and ignoring the senbon that flew into her, she drew her sword with lighting following. Note, just lighting, not lighting and fire. The move was called Guard Break. It seemed to work as cracks appeared but didn't break the mirror, much to her disappointment. Haku appeared in the mirror that she just cracked and punched her and sent her flying. She groaned, pulling out the senbon as she got up.

"I'm impressed. You managed to crack one of my mirrors, but you need more power then that to destroy it." He finished his talk with another round of senbon, which she dodged but she still got struck by a couple. She wasn't going to last much longer. She needed a nightmare…wait, what did she just think? She was supposed to say miracle so why did she ask for a nightmare?

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Sakura jumped at the voice and turned her head to stare at a smiling Naruto. Sakura stared at Naruto for a moment, like she was trying to register that Naruto was actually there.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" She wasn't sure how she should be feeling at this point.

"Oh, I saw that you needed help so I came to the rescue." He said, still smiling. She shook her head.

"Naruto, I'm trapped here and you are as well. How are you supposed to help if you are trapped?"

"I got it covered. Now where is the guy?" She pointed toward the mirrors.

"He's using the mirrors to be in different places at once. I can't hit him." Naruto thought for a moment and his face reflected it. A moment later, his face lit up.

"I got an idea. You stay here and rest. I got it covered." Naruto stood up and walked to the center with Haku's eyes following his every step.

"It doesn't not matter who you are. I'll still kill you." Naruto ignored him and put his hands in a cross seal.

"**Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"** More Naruto's popped into existence. "If there's a hundred mirrors then a hundred of me's will take them down!" Each Naruto lept at a mirror but they were quickly dispelled by Haku's senbon. Naruto got up and made more clones and tried again but it achieved the same result. Naruto kept on trying and failing. Sakura watched with pride in her eyes at Naruto's determination. She watched on trying to find a weakness or anything that could help but she couldn't keep up with his speed. Naruto was sent flying to the ground by Haku's attack. He wasn't about to give up. He got closer that time.

"It's time to end this." Naruto heard him say but he was dizzy. He didn't see the senbon coming at him, aiming at the kill spots. Sakura did, however, and she did the only thing that came to mind. She got up, rushed over to where he stood, and pushed him away just in time for him to miss the senbon but she was hit instead. Naruto rolled until he stopped. He looked behind him and froze.

Sakura took the hit for him.

Sakura stood there, panting, and the needles were there sticking out of her body. A moment passed and she fell. Naruto watched with horror on his face. He slowly crawled over to her, not hearing what Haku just said. He reached her and saw her face. She saw him and smiled.

"Hey there, what's with that look on your face?" She weakly asked, as if she wasn't dying right now.

"S-sakura-chan, why did you do that?" A small, weak laugh came from her mouth. She brought her shaking hand up to Naruto's face and cupped it.

"I told you that I would take care of you and I intend to keep doing that, even in death." Her eyes were getting heavy and he could see it.

"No! Stay awake Sakura-chan. I can't lose you." Tears started to gather in his eyes.

"It's alright Naruto-kun." He shook his head and gently picked up Sakura and hugged her. He did something that surprised Sakura. He kissed her. Weakly she responded to it then her hands fell limp. Naruto didn't break away, not willing to face the reality that was happening right now but he had to. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw Sakura's pale face. He ended the kiss and slowly set her down, while still crying. He stayed in the state for a few minutes, numb to all around him until a voice spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but I had no choice." Suddenly the tears stopped and his anger started to rise. The wind started to pick up around him. He started to change.

"You…you bastard. You hurt her." A red aura started to form around Naruto as he got madder. His eyes changed from normal blue to silted red. His whiskers became more defined and darker. His nails got longer and his hair grew wilder with red streaks. His teeth grew fangs and he became for fox like, more feral. **"For what you have done, I'LL KILL YOU!"** Haku quickly launched another round of senbon at Naruto and it struck but they popped out just as fast as they came in. He could see his wounds healing much faster. Naruto gripped the handle of the sword but just as he was about to pull it, the sword spoke to him.

"_**Child, before you draw me, take my eyes."**_

"_Whatever."_ Naruto didn't care what happened to him at this point; he just wanted to see him dead. He could feel Soul Edge change his eyes but into what, he didn't know. Naruto waited until he finished.

Haku watched as the changed Naruto draw something on his back and opened his eyes and he froze. His eyes changed. He could feel a great evil radiating off of them and it scared him.

A lot.

Just barely recovering himself, he launched another wave at him but this reaction was different. Naruto somehow released a wave that had two energies mixed and knocked away the senbon but due to the sheer power of it. The energy was felt almost everywhere, including Konoha.

* * *

_A few feet away_

The three battling nins froze in their spots when they felt the aura pass them. The effect it had on the Konoha nin was somewhat diminished because they are close to Naruto but not much. Zabuza, however, was a different story. He felt that kind of aura before from a scroll that had a fraction of the energy in it. It was the only time that he felt genuine fear. It was then he discovered the reason why the swordsmen were formed in the first place.

"Kakashi." Kakashi heard his name being called. "Please tell me that the boy is not carrying Soul Edge." Both of the nins eyes widened when he mentioned Soul Edge.

"How do you know about Soul Edge?"

"JUST ANSWER ME DAMMIT!" Kakashi was unfazed by the loud shout.

"Well…I'd be lying if I said he wasn't." A loud clatter was heard and the mist started to clear, much to their surprise. A couple of minutes later, Zabuza was seen with his sword on the ground, staring at the dome at the far end of the bridge. Slowly, they walked up, weary of any sudden movements. They eventually reached him and they were surprised at the expression on his face. A couple minutes later, he finally spoke.

"Tell me Kakashi. Do you know the reason why the Seven Swordsmen were created in the first place?" Confused at his question, he replied.

"Not really."

"The organization was created by the first Mizukage and it was created for the sole purpose of fighting against Soul Edge if and when it escaped its confinement and went on a rampage." He explained, watching Naruto try to kill Haku in a bloody rage. "But I'm not sure what to do now. I clearly see that he is in control, despite what's going on now." He didn't say anymore as he was too shocked.

"So what happens now?" Jiraiya asked. There was silence for a few minutes.

"Now, I'm not your enemy anymore."

* * *

_Elsewhere_

Deep within the Tea country, a woman that is wearing a green coat and has very big…assets and her companion were sitting down at a gambling table. She was frowning. She wasn't frowning because she was losing but because she was winning, ten times in a row. She had a reputation known as the 'Legendary Sucker' which means she always loses. The only times she wins is when something bad is happening or going to happen. A minute later, everybody felt an evil aura pass by and that caused everybody to stay frozen to the spot, as well as a reaction from the crystal around the woman's neck. It was a very strong reaction and it hurt a little. She frowned. This was her grandfathers and she knew what it was made of…and what it reacts to but it was sealed. She thought for a moment before gathering her winnings and leaving, telling her companion to pack up.

* * *

_Akatsuki Residence_

Within the Akatsuki Mountain, a slumbering man fish was having a good nap, clutching his giant sword in his hands. He slept soundly, until the aura passed. He didn't take note of it, but his sword did and reacted violently. Kisame woke up with a yelp of pain and pushed his sword away and stared at it with a mixture of anger and confusion. It never did that. A new sound made its way to his ears and it seemed to be talking to him.

"_Soul Edge…Soul Edge…Soul Edge."_

"Soul Edge?" Kisame was still half asleep and he racked his brain for information. A few minutes later, his eyes widened in realization that Soul Edge, the reason why the Seven Swordsman of the Mist was created, has returned. Now that he is fully awake, he sensed the aura that passed and remembering what he was supposed to do if it ever awoke again, grabbed his sword and pack and flew out of the room like a bat out of hell, passing his partner who cocked an eyebrow.

* * *

_Another Room_

Hidan woke up with a start. He just felt that aura and he remembered it. Soul Edge, the cursed blade that his clan was created to fight against. So it awoken, but then he remembered something else, something that he has associated Soul Edge with.

"_Zasalamel."_ His eyes widened as if he realized something and he quickly found his scythe and his pack and shot out of the room like a holy man running out of hell, passing his partner, who raised an eyebrow.

Both Kisame and Hidan met at the same time and the stairs and flew down it. Neither saying a word to each other as they knew what their reason for running was. They flew across the living room and passed Pein and Konan.

"Where are you going?" He asked them as they passed but they didn't answer him as they flew through the door and Pein's eyebrow was twitching. He turned around to face the partners of the runaway members. In a low voice that was scary beyond all reason, he ordered them. "Follow them." The two gulped seeing the face that their leader was making. They nodded and left after their respective partners.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back at the bridge_

Sakura Haruno lied at her spot not moving and not breathing while Naruto continues to devastate the bridge trying to tear apart Haku for his crimes. He was getting close as he was getting slow. Naruto didn't know this but Sakura was still alive; well her spirit was but not her body. Normally when a body dies, the spirit leaves the body and falls into the clutches of the Grim Reaper but her spirit was being held back, much to the annoyance of the Grim Reaper who stood floating above her body waiting for her spirit to come out so he can go already. He's a busy skeleton you know.

* * *

_Within Sakura's mind_

The familiar presence that Sakura talked to before was now floating in front of her and she could somehow feel it judging her.

"_**So...you're finally dead."**_ A vein throbbed in her forehead at the obvious statement.

"_Yeah I'm dead. What's it to you?"_

"_**To be honest, I thought that you would die at the hands of the sword, not some girly boy."**_ Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"_Who are you?"_ The presence ignored her question.

"_**Tell me something. You once told me that you would do anything to protect Naruto. Is that still true?"**_ Sakura froze. She never expected it to ask that question but she answered it the same way she did back then.

"_Yeah, it's still true."_

"_**Even if you had to kill him to save his soul?"**_ That silenced her. Could she really do it? Could she really kill Naruto in order to save him and not condemn him to a life of torment from Soul Edge. She thought for a minute.

"_Yes, I can do it."_ The presence hovered above her for a while, watching her, thinking. Finally, it seemed to make up its mind.

"_**Well, that settles it. You pass my test."**_ Sakura was dumbstruck. She wasn't sure how to take this good news, if it was good news. The presence above her changed and she could see it. At first it was just a glowing orb thingy, but then it started to take shape, until the glow subsided and she saw a sword in place…with a familiar eye. Sakura stumbled back in alarm._** "Now now child. Don't be afraid. I am not that accursed Soul Edge."**_

"_Then what are you?"_ She practically shouted.

"_**I am Soul Caliber. I was forged from the purified fragments of the once-shattered Soul Edge."**_ She was confused.

"_So you are Soul Edge?"_

"_**NO! For the last time, I am not that accursed blade. I have my own will, my own personality. I am a separate being from him."**_

"_So…you're his brother?"_

"_**I AM..."**_ He paused for a moment. _**"Well, I guess technically yes."**_

"_Ok, what did you mean by I passed your test?"_

"_**What I said is what I mean and now you will reap the reward."**_ Sakura didn't even have a chance to be confused before the sword known as Soul Caliber lunged at Sakura who instinctively moved her hands to protect herself. She waited for the strike but it never came, instead she felt a tug in her hands. She opened her eyes to see herself holding the sword. _**"The reward is allowing you to possess me and use me for your will."**_ Soul Caliber answered her unspoken question. _**"Now, I think its time we went back."**_ Sakura felt her being thrown somewhere and the next thing she knew; she was opening her eyes in the land of the living. The first thing she saw was the Grim Reaper hovering over her, apparently pissed off. He looked at her, cursed her five ways to Sunday, and floated off still cursing. She registered something in her hands and looked down and saw Soul Caliber in her hands. She blinked…and it blinked back. A surge in chakra caught her attention. She looked up and saw Naruto and Haku…and Soul Edge in Haku's body.

"_Oh god, don't tell me he…"_ She trailed off when she saw Haku slide off the sword and fall onto the ground. Naruto turned his head a little and she saw his eyes. They were different and it scared her. Naruto recovered his senses and put Soul Edge back on his back. He turned his head toward the spot where Sakura was, expecting to see a dead body, so imagine his surprise when he sees an alive Sakura, sitting down, and looking at him. His face took on a look of happiness and he broke into a run, closing the distance between the two of them very fast and Sakura and Naruto ended up sliding a few feet when they collided. Naruto had her into a full hug, crying his eyes out at the sight of her. Sakura smiled and started to hug him back; assuring him that it wasn't a dream. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Zabuza walked up to them and Sakura stiffened seeing Zabuza and Naruto noticed the stiff as well and turned to look...only to stiffen as well. Both of their sensei's hurriedly told them that Zabuza had a change of heart and that he is on our side. That's when they heard tapping. They turned around to see Gatou and his army of thugs behind him.

"I should have known you would turn on me. Just so you know, I never intended to pay you." Zabuza growled at this. As Gatou continued on ranting, Kakashi, Zabuza, and Jiraiya were arguing who would get dibs on Gatou's head. As they were arguing, Naruto unlatched himself from Sakura, gave her a quick kiss on the lips, told her that he would be right back, turned around and walked away. He walked right by the arguing nins, who stared at him before Kakashi said what everybody had in mind.

"I think dibs have been decided."

Gatou watched the boy walk up to him with an amused expression. "What's the matter boy? You want to die?" He could see a smirk appear on his face.

"Oh, I'm not the one who is going to die today. You are." Naruto bit his thumb and made handseals. _**"Summoning jutsu!" **_Naruto slammed his hand down on the bridge and a huge cloud of smoke appeared. The smoke passed and Manda stood there, in all his snakey glory.

"_**You called brat?"**_ Manda took notice of Naruto's changed eyes.

"You said you wanted food?" Manda nodded. Naruto gestured to the crowd in front on them. Manda smiled.

"_**Hehe, you just made my day."**_

"Save the short one for me."

"_**You got it brat!"**_ Manda lunged toward the crowd and when they saw the giant snake head toward them, they broke into a run but it didn't help them as Manda was faster. Soon almost every thug was in Manda's stomach. Manda was very please that he has a full stomach. As per Naruto's request, he saved the small one for him. Naruto jumped down and pulled Soul Edge from his back and walked up to the shaking Gatou. He couldn't stop looking at his eyes.

"_**You will be punished for your crimes."**_ Naruto raised his sword up high and Gatou sprouted some nonsense about money or something like that but he didn't listen. _**"This place...shall be...your grave."**_ Those were the last words he heard before getting stabbed. He twisted the sword and that increased the pain that Gatou felt before dying. Naruto pulled Soul Edge out and put him back on his back and turned around to see the entire village assembled with Inari in front. He saw Sakura and his teammates waved at him and he waved back...only to collapse to the ground from sudden, unexpected exhaustion. The next thing he heard was Sakura's cries for him and the next thing he felt was someone lifting him up and he heard his sensei speak.

"Naruto, open your eyes." Naruto did what he was asked, and with effort, slowly opened his eyes to see a worried team, minus Sasuke. They stared at each other for a moment. "Kakashi, am I right?" Naruto turned his head to face the Sharingan wielder. His Sharingan eye staring straight at him and he stared right back.

Kakashi shivered at the sight.

"Yeah, he's drawing chakra in his eyes and whatever he's doing; I can't copy it which probably means that this is a bloodline, a new one by the looks of it." There was a small gasp from Sakura. Naruto's eyes dropped, wanting to go to sleep, but he was shaken by Kakashi.

How rude of him. He wants to go to sleep, dammit.

"Naruto! Stay awake! You need to stop the chakra flow to your eyes or else you will die of chakra exhaustion." Naruto could hear the worry and urgency in his voice so he tried. He felt for the flow of chakra in the eyes and after some searching, found the flow and stopped it. He felt his eyes change back to normal but after the change, he felt something on his back, marking him somehow. Eyes dropping again, he finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep, but not before hearing Soul Edge.

"_**Congratulations child. You have signed the Nightmare Pact."**_

It wouldn't be until the next morning until Naruto discovered the kanji for 'Nightmare' on his back.

* * *

I have fun with this chapter. For you Zabuza fans, I have decided that there will be a ZabuTira pairing. I'm going to say this once. Naruto will not be overpowered.

Next chapter: On the way back to Konoha, two immortals meet after a few lifetimes. New alliances are made and the Chunnin exams is about to start.


	8. Friends and Foes

_**Naruto Uzumaki…Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

_Timeskip_

It has been a few weeks since Gatou and Haku was killed by Naruto's hands. At first the reality didn't hit him but after a couple of days, when the reality of what a shinobi meant doing, what they were trained to do, he just cried. He cried in the arms of Sakura and was later joined by his sensei's and Tira and even Sasuke. After about 15 minutes of crying, he finally fell asleep and Tira and Sakura stayed with him. The next day, they decided to find out what exactly can Naruto's new bloodline can do.

Sasuke 'volunteered' to be the guinea pig. Naruto activated his eyes and looked into his eyes. Sasuke could feel massive amounts of killer intent coming from Naruto but that was just the start. He could feel those eyes boring into his skull, looking into his soul. Suddenly he heard his name being called and he turned around to face his brother. That's when the nightmare started. It was then that they learned that Naruto's eyes brought people's worst nightmares come to life and coupled with the intense killer intent made the Sharingan or any other doujutsu worthless if you can't focus enough to use it. When Naruto asked Soul Edge about the kanji on his back, he merely replied that he would find out in time. When Naruto was asked about what he wanted to name it, he already had an idea in mind. He named it _**Akumu no Me (Nightmare Eye)**_. A couple of weeks later, they were visited by Yoshimitsu again. He was just checking up on how things were doing and left the next day.

The next week was spent training and watching over Tazuna as he built his bridge. Zabuza taught Naruto a few pointers about using a big sword. Soon the bridge was finally finished and they left the Land of Waves after a few goodbyes and tears flowing, but they didn't hear what they named it. The Great Naruto Bridge. This is where we join them now, on the road, heading back to Konoha, but unfortunately, things weren't going to be as peaceful as they thought.

A lone figure stood in the trees watching the group with his calculating eyes. He followed them ever since they left the Land of Waves and waited as the opportune moment to strike draws near. He watched them as they passed the tree he was in and smirked. Doing this was like taking candy from a baby.

As the group walked, they heard a voice in the trees.

"You served your purpose. It's time for you to die." A loud crack sounded through the forest and the big tree besides Naruto shifted before falling down in Naruto's direction. There was a loud shout from Sakura as Naruto reached behind him, pulled out Soul Edge, and split the tree in two. A figure jumped from the shadows and landed in front of Naruto. He was a black man, wearing the clothes of a monk, and wielding a scythe. "I'm impressed. I was wrong about you." Naruto snarled.

"Just wait. You'll see just how wrong you are." Naruto charged at this newcomer and swung his sword and he blocked it. "Who are you anyway?" He smirked and opened his mouth in reply but someone beat him to it.

"ZASALAMEL!" A newcomer jumped from the trees and slammed his weapon in between them causing them to fly apart. The dust cleared and they saw a man with silver hair and wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. His weapon was a scythe with three blades on it. Naruto also saw a rosary on his neck, which meant that he was a monk. Weird, he doesn't look like one, he has too much hair. The newcomer turned and faced Zasalamel and stared at each other.

"Hidan."

"Zasalamel."

"It's been a long time since we last saw each other."

"Too long. The last time I saw your ugly mug is when I was chopping it off." He humped.

"You got in a lucky shot. What are you doing here?"

"I'm keeping you away from Soul Edge." Everybody's eyes widened when Hidan said Soul Edge.

"You can't keep me from it. I will accomplish my dream."

"I know what your dream is but the way you're doing it is wrong." They charged at each other and they would have watched the battle if not another figure jumped out of the trees and aimed his weapon for _Naruto_. Naruto moved to block the strike but Zabuza moved and blocked it instead. Naruto got a good look at him. His skin was blue and he look like a man fish with gills on his cheeks. The slashed hand band of the mist glittered in the sunlight. A moment passed before either spoke.

"Zabuza."

"Kisame."

"What are you doing protecting him? You know what we are supposed to do if _it_ ever escaped its confinement." Zabuza grunted with effort as he tried to keep Kisame back.

"I know what we're supposed to do but look at him." Kisame took a quick glance to Naruto. "Does he look like it is controlling him? Kisame took another glance, this time he looked longer. Kisame, after seeing the truth, pulled his weapon back.

"It looks like he isn't." Kisame put his sword back onto his back. "But you need to tell me _everything_ that happened." Zabuza nodded and was about to speak when an explosion rocked the earth. They turned around to see Hidan and Zasalamel on the ground, both about to pass out, facing each other.

"So what will it be Hidan? Two immortals locked in eternal combat?" The single gold eye man asked, getting up as he spoke.

"Or you can just surrender." Zasalamel snorted.

"As long as we belong to two different religions, we will always be rivals." Zasalamel turned and left but not before saying something. "Make no mistake boy. I will be back for you." Then there was silence. Hidan walked back to the group and when he reached it, he turned to Kisame.

"Everything alright with you, fishface?" He nodded. Jiraiya walked up to them and stepped in front of Naruto.

"What does the Akatsuki want here?" It was then that they realized that Jiraiya was here. Both Hidan and Kisame smirked.

"We aren't here as Akatsuki. We are here as a swordsman and monk doing our duty. We aren't here for Kyuubi." Sasuke's ears perked up. "But enough of that, I have something for Naruto." Jiraiya stared at Hidan, searching for any deceit. Finding none, he stepped aside and Hidan stepped forward, crouching down to Naruto's level.

"Who are you?" He smiled and brought up his hand. Naruto took his hand and shook it.

"Name's Hidan of the Jashman order." Hidan took off the rosary off of his neck and handed it to Naruto.

"What's this?" He said as he took the rosary from him.

"This is a Monk Contract of Jashman. Whoever wears the rosary of a monk gets the monk as a bodyguard for the rest of his/her life." Naruto looked at the rosary before putting it on.

"So what does that mean?"

"You're stuck with me for the rest of your fucking life, seriously. I don't know about fish face though." Jiraiya spoke up now.

"But what about Akatsuki?" He asked. Both Kisame and Hidan smirked and at the same time, said...

"We quit."

"Is that so?" A new voice was heard and Hidan smirked.

"You heard right Kakuzu. I'm quitting. I told you before that this was just to kill some time until I find something else to do. Now that I have, I'm leaving." Hidan took off his ring and cloak and threw it toward the newcomer, who caught it easily.

"The Leader isn't going to like this, you know."

"Ehh, who cares about him? But the question is…if you're here, then where's…"

"I know that you weren't about to call me red-eye, were you?" Hidan smirked and turned to look behind him to see Itachi Uchiha in the trees. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, but Itachi just ignored him. "Kisame, what are your intentions?" Itachi asked his partner. The fish man look at Naruto, then at Itachi and continued this for a minute before replying.

"I quit too." Itachi shook his head.

"Hand over your cloak and ring." Kisame took off his cloak and his ring and tossed them to Itachi. "The next time we meet, I will kill you." Itachi and Kazuzu both disappeared. Hidan turned toward the group.

"Well, shall we go?"

* * *

_A week later_

The group composed of Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Tira, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Kisame, Zabuza, and Hidan traveled together toward Konoha. Kisame and Zabuza had a friendship when they were in the Mist Swordsman but it broke when Zabuza left. Kisame, wanting his friend back, grabbed Zabuza and took him away and had a long talk with him. Tira, on the other hand, was confused. Every time she looks at Zabuza, she gets a feeling in her stomach. She can't explain it but a blush appears on her face. She was frustrated when she couldn't figure it out. Naruto asked Hidan what exactly was his religion. Pride lit up Hidan's face at the thought of converting someone else to Jashman, but things didn't go as planned. When Hidan finished telling Naruto of his religion, there was a delayed effect. There were a couple of moments of silence before Naruto screamed bloody murder and promptly fainted from shock, causing Sakura to rush to his side. She demanded why Naruto fainted and Hidan just replied.

"_I just told him what my religion was."_ That earned him a glare from Sakura. She knew what his religion was when Soul Calibur told her the other day. Sakura brought her hand up and bit her thumb and made a series of seals and the next thing Hidan knew, he was facing 3 giant snakes.

"_I suggest you start running."_ That was the last thing he heard before the snakes charged at him. Hidan had a heck of a time trying to avoid those snakes. They were faster then he thought. She dismissed them when Naruto woke up. A couple of days later, they stopped at a town for the night. It was there that Hidan discovered that his favorite band was playing there. Needless to day, he begged Naruto to let him watch it. Naruto had half a mind to not let him but he eventually let him go, but their hotel was next to the concert so they heard the concert even though they tried to shut it out. They listened to it and some of them even liked it.

* * *

This is Stupify by Disturbed. Look for it on Youtube and listen as you read.

* * *

_**Yeah, bringing you another disturbing creation  
from the mind of one sick animal who can't tell the difference  
and gets stupified **_

I've been waiting my whole life for just one...FUCK  
And all I needed was just one...FUCK  
How can you say that you don't give a...FUCK  
I find myself stupified, coming back again  
All I wanted was just one...FUCK  
One tiny little innocent...FUCK  
And when I feel like I'm shit out of...LUCK  
I find my stupified, coming back again

Why, do you like playing around with  
My, narrow scope of reality  
I, can feel it all start slipping  
I think I'm breaking down

Why, do you like playing around with  
My, narrow scope of reality  
I, can feel it all start slipping away  
See but I don't get it  
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit  
Don't you think it can take control when I don't let it  
I get stupified  
It's all the same you say  
Live with it

But I don't get it  
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit  
Don't you think it can take control when I don't let it  
I get stupified [x2

All the people in the left wing...ROCK  
And all the people in the right wing...ROCK  
And all the people in the underground...ROCK  
I find myself stupified, coming back again  
All the people in the high rise...ROCK  
And all the people in the projects...ROCK  
And all la hente in the barrio...ROCK  
I find myself stupified, coming back again

Why, do you like playing around with  
My, narrow scope of reality  
I, can feel it all start slipping  
I think I'm breaking down

Why, do you like playing around with  
My, narrow scope of reality  
I, can feel it all start slipping away  
See but I don't get it  
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit  
Don't you think it can take control when I don't let it  
I get stupified  
It's all the same you say  
Live with it

But I don't get it  
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit  
Don't you think it can take control when I don't let it  
I get stupified [x2

And don't deny me  
No baby now, don't deny me  
And darlin' don't be afraid...

But I don't get it  
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit  
Don't you think it can take control when I don't let it  
I get stupified

Look in my face, step in my soul  
I begin to stupify. Ah[x4

Look in my face, step in my soul [x4

Look in my face! (step into my soul!)[x3  
I begin to stupify! Ah! 

They heard another song that seemed to be louder then the last, if it was possible.

* * *

_This is Mistress by Disturbed_

* * *

_**I stand on the brink of your mind  
Living inside a nightmare from which  
I just cannot awaken  
Stand on the edge of your life  
Just give me another moment  
From which I will never awaken **_

Stand on the brink of my own demise  
Fallen again for another  
Mistress of burden  
To idolize  
Hoping that one of them will decide  
To let me in

To stand on the edge of the knife  
Cutting through the nightmare from which  
I just cannot awaken  
Stand on the edge of the night  
Living inside a moment  
From which I will never awaken

Stand on the brink of my own demise  
Fallen again for another  
Mistress of burden  
To idolize  
Hoping that one of them will decide  
To let me in

Look at what you've done to me  
You've become my enemy  
Poisoning the world for me  
Take away my everything  
Weakened as I am

Stand on the brink of my own demise  
Fallen again for another  
Mistress of burden  
To idolize  
Hoping that one of them will decide  
To let me in 

That was the last song they heard before finally falling asleep. When they woke up, they found Hidan next to the bed, passed out with the stench of alcohol on his breath and a smile on his face. It would be a while before he would wake up and it was true, he didn't wake up until 6 in the afternoon. The next day, Hidan was clean and sober, and the body was well and they set off, but they couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Soon it is only a couple of days until they reach Konoha and it was then that their stalker made himself, or should I say _herself_ known. The figure dropped down from the trees (stalkers love to use trees, don't they?) and using some kind of attack, broke the ground in pieces and sent everybody flying but the attacker didn't waste anytime and went after Naruto. Jiraiya felt the attacker's chakra and recognized it.

"TSUNADE, STOP!" The attacker did stop but she only stopped to lob a rock straight to Jiraiya. Sakura felt Soul Calibur resonate. The dust cloud was blown away and the attacker was seen. It was a woman with a green jacket and big…ahem…anyway, she had blond hair tied into two ponytails. "Tsunade, what are you doing?" Jiraiya asked her.

"Shut up Jiraiya." She said before launching herself toward a surprised Naruto. Naruto quickly recovered and jumped away, just in time to avoid a fist that made contact with the group and a medium crater. Naruto and the others went wide eyed at the sheer strength of this female. Naruto, getting into his fighting mode, drew Soul Edge and charged the attacker. She went wide eyed at the sword but it only lasted for a second before she kicked the ground, sending a fairly big rock and sent it flying to Naruto who sliced it in half and continued his charge. Naruto reached her and went on the offensive. The others watched, not sure when to get in the action. Sakura had her hand of the hilt of Soul Calibur and was mumbling to herself before charging in, finding a opening. Tsunade narrowly avoided the strike that would have taken her arm off.

Sakura landed beside Naruto and watched Tsunade. She was looking at Naruto with cold eyes, the same eyes that he gets from the villagers. "Why are you doing this?" She asked her. Tsunade diverted her eyes from Naruto and went to the girl. She narrowed her eyes.

"Stay out of this. This doesn't concern you."

"It concerns me that you are attacking Naruto for no reason." She was silent for a moment.

"Do you have any idea what you are protecting? Do you know how many lives that sword has taken?" Eyes widened when she spoke about the sword. Hidan, Kisame, Zabuza, and Tira wasted no time going to Naruto's side, weapons at the ready. Sakura spoke up.

"I know what Soul Edge is and what it is capable of. Naruto has it under control." What was said next shocked them.

"NOBODY CAN CONTROL THAT DAMN SWORD! IT TOOK MY GRANDFATHER'S LIFE!" Tsunade bit her thumb and made a familiar set of seals. Sakura did the same and soon Manda was on the field and a big…slug. "Katsuyu."

"_**Tsunade-sama, what do you need me for?"**_ Before Tsunade could talk, Manda interrupted.

"_**Katsuyu, she wants you to fight Naruto."**_ Katsuyu nodded before speaking to Tsunade.

"_**Tsunade-sama, I will not help you fight Naruto."**_ Tsunade dropped her jaw in surprise.

"But he has Soul Edge." Tsunade tried to reason with her summon.

"_**We know that and he has proven to us that he has control of Soul Edge." **_Tsunade's jaw dropped again.

"So you're telling me that Naruto, a 12-year old child, resisted the will of Soul Edge."

"_**Not exactly. Kyuubi is helping him."**_ Tsunade's face took on a surprise look.

"You mean that this gaki is the Kyuubi container?" Katsuyu nodded and she was going to say something but something interrupted her.

"_**INCOMING!!!!!!!"**_ Everybody look up and dived out of the way as Gamabunta came crashing down.

"Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing?!" She asked the toad hermit as soon as the dust cleared. She could see a serious expression on his face.

"I'm stopping you from making a huge mistake. Naruto has control over Soul Edge and he even has a new bloodline that is a mixture of Soul Edge and Kyuubi." Jiraiya hoped that it got through to her and it looked liked it worked. She was having an inner struggle and they weren't sure who was winning. After about 5 minutes, her face took on a look of decision and she sighed. She turned back toward Jiraiya.

"I need time to think." Katsuyu disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Tsunade made her escape. The smoke cleared and Tsunade was nowhere in sight. Jiraiya sighed before dismissing Gamabunta and Manda disappeared as well. Naruto walked up to him.

"Ero-sennin, who was she?" Jiraiya twitched at the new nickname that him and Sakura were calling him ever since they found out that he was the author of Icha Icha Paradise. He sighed. It was inevitable he supposed. Putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder, he explained.

"I'll tell you on the way."

* * *

_Konoha_

A few days later, the group finally reached the gates of Konoha. Jiraiya and Kakashi had to explain why there was a homicidal-looking girl, a missing nin from Rain, and two missing nins from Mist with them. After a lot of talking and arguing and insulting (happily bestowed by Hidan), they were allowed to enter with ANBU escort. Jiraiya and Kakashi dismissed their students saying that they will take care of everything. Sasuke just went home to train some more. Naruto and Sakura went to their home, hand in hand.

* * *

_Hokage's office later_

Within the Hokage's office, all the jounin sensei's are gathered. They had some idea what they were there for. They waited for the Hokage to finish reading his papers. After a couple of minutes, the Hokage put his papers down. He looked up to face the jounins.

"I assume you know why you are here?"

"It's already here? I thought we would have more time?" Kakashi asked.

"There are already some teams here already. Before I forget, there is something you should know. Cloud is sending a team for the exams." There were wide eyes all round. "I know, I had the same reaction, but there were compilations. Her team was killed on the way here so she will be taking the exam alone." They were too shocked to respond, still trying to get over the fact that there is a Cloud shinobi within Konoha walls. "Before any of you ask, I have taken the necessary precautions and she is being watched.

"What's her name?" Jiraiya asked. The Hokage took a puff of his pipe before exhaling.

"Yugito Nii."

The meeting continued on for a while and nominations were made. The big surprise of the day was the nominations of the rookies. Iruka objected to the idea. Kakashi explained that they were ready for the exams, but he was still doubtful but didn't voice any further objections.

* * *

_The next day_

The next day, team 7 waited at the usual spot where they were supposed to meet their sensei's. This happened all the time. The children arrive, then Jiraiya on time, then Kakashi 2 hours late but something was off today. It's been two hours but there was no Jiraiya or Kakashi. An hour passed when Kakashi and Jiraiya finally showed up. That, of course, earned them a one-sided shouting match from Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke just didn't care. Eventually they grew tired of the shouting and ending up panting from shortness of breath.

"Now now, we have a very good reason for being late." Kakashi said with a smile and curved eye.

"You (pant) better." Kakashi and Jiraiya both reached into their pockets and pulled out three slips of paper and handed them to each of the genins, who took them and looked them over. They waited until their eyes widened.

"That's right. We recommended you for the Chunnin Exams."

"Really?" They nodded.

"If you want to take the exam, fill out the form and go to the Academy to room 301 a week from now." That was the last thing Kakashi said before poofing away followed by Jiraiya. There was silence for a few moments, before Naruto spoke up.

"So what do you guys say? You in?" Both Sakura and Sasuke nodded with a smirk on their faces. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

I'm going to stop it here. Not sure what else to say other then to read and review. For those of you wondering about Nightmare, don't worry, he'll make an appearance.

Next chapter is the start of the Chunnin Exams.


	9. Chunnin Exams Begins

_**Naruto Uzumaki…Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

_A week later_

A week has passed and the chunnin exams finally arrived. Both Naruto and Sakura woke up from their slumber. They barely got any sleep because of the anticipation for the chunnin exams the next day. They got up and started to prepare for the day. Soon they were on the road heading toward Konoha Academy where the exams were held. As they walked, three blurs skidded to a stop in front of them and Naruto recognized them as the self-proclaimed 'Konohamaru Corps' lead by Konohamaru Sarutobi, the grandson of the Hokage. Naruto met Konohamaru after turning in his picture for his profile. He taught him the _**Sexy Jutsu**_ and soon after, declared Naruto a rival for the spot of Hokage.

"Leader, are you going to the Academy for the exams?" Naruto nodded with a smile and ruffled his hair, which earned a whine from Konohamaru and giggles from Sakura and Moegi. Konohamaru said his goodbyes and left with his friends. They continued walking until they finally reached the Academy where they met Sasuke waiting for them. They greeted each other and opened the doors to the next step in their career. They walked the hallways until they reached a commotion going on. They noticed a badly placed genjutsu over the sign labeled 201 that was supposed to be 301. Sakura whispered to Naruto that they should just ignore it and keep going. He nodded and was about to say the same to Sasuke when they noticed that he wasn't there anymore. They turned to see Sasuke walking toward the commotion. Naruto rushed forward to stop him but it was too late as he reached them.

"Hey, drop the genjutsu." Both Sakura and Naruto smacked their heads at the stupidity of their teammate. Several gasps followed the statement as several pairs of eyes stared at the Uchiha, while one pair of pupil less eyes bore into the skull of Naruto. The genjutsu dissolved and the sign 201 appeared. Having enough of his foolishness, both Naruto and Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him away. They didn't get halfway out of the hallway until someone ran up to them, or rather _her_.

"Excuse me?" A genin with a bowl-cut haircut and what looked to be caterpillars where his eyebrows were supposed to be, wearing a green spandex suit. One thought ran through their minds.

"_Creepy."_

"Yeah?" Naruto responded but he ignored him and turned his sights to Sakura.

"What is your name?" She was a little unnerved by the sight of his eyebrows. Did they just move?

"Sakura Haruno." An odd gleam came to his face as he smiled. He made a thumbs up sign and stated.

"My name is Rock Lee. Will you become my girlfriend? I will protect you with my life." Naruto's hands tightened causing the Uchiha pain.

"Sorry, I'm taken." Sakura put her hands and Naruto's shoulders and squeezed it assuredly. Lee saw this and understood.

"I see. The beautiful flower has already been taken."

"Lee." A new voice was spoken and Naruto narrowed his eyes at the newcomer.

"Neji-kun, what is it?" Neji stared at Naruto who stared back. There was tension in the air and Sakura could feel it. Sasuke was still feeling Naruto's death grip.

"Who are you?" Neji asked.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Neji narrowed his eyes.

"Uzumaki huh. I never heard of you."

"You will." Sakura tugged on Sasuke's arm and pulled him away with Naruto following, wanting to get away from the creepy eyebrows.

"Neji, what is it?" The girl spoke. Neji stared at the backs of the ninja walking away.

"Do you remember when we felt that strange energy and it led us to the memorial grounds Tenten?"

"How could I not? You freaked out for a moment and passed out and you never told us why." Tenten's face changed into one that one would make if he/she realized something. "Does it have to do with that boy?" Tenten saw Neji nod.

"I don't know whether it's him or his sword, but there is something evil surrounding him."

"What sword? He doesn't have a sword."

"Did you see the handle over his shoulder?"

"Yeah..."

"Soul Edge has the ability of hiding itself."

"Ok...wait, what?" Neji soon found himself backed into the wall by a fuming TenTen. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"What...did...you...say?"

"Soul Edge?" He saw Tenten's eyebrow twitch. Apparently, he hit a nerve.

"What's the matter with you?"

"That..._thing_ was the one that been killing my family before it was sealed. I was barely born before my mother died from the disease it spread in our genes. Thankfully, it wasn't passed onto me, but the damage was done. I am an orphan because of that cursed sword." Tenten said snarling.

"I didn't know that but I have no doubt that Uzumaki has control of Soul Edge. If he wasn't, we would all be dead right now. She had to admit, what Neji said makes sense. If Naruto was indeed in control, they would be dead, but that doesn't mean she doesn't trust him. He would have to earn that.

* * *

_Back to Team 7_

They went up the stairs while still holding on to Sasuke who is feeling stupid and humiliated and unable to escape from the death grips of Naruto and Sakura. Soon they reached a door with their sensei's in front of it.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Kakashi smiled.

"I'm glad you are here Sakura." Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because if all three of you didn't show up, we would have to turn you around."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the exam requires three people to participate and now that you are here, we can let you in." They moved aside and let the three in the doors.

Inside, the sight that met their eyes was frightening to scare them for a moment. Just a moment though before they recovered their senses from the KI that everybody was putting out.

"Well well, looks who's here." A voice from the side caught their attention. They turned and saw Team 8 walk up to them.

"Dog breath, you're here too?" Kiba nodded.

"And so are we." Team 10 composed of Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji walked up to them as well. "Looks like we have a full house." Ino commented, gesturing to the shinobi glaring at them. An idea formed in Naruto's head and he turned and winked at Sakura who raised an eyebrow. He walked up to the shinobi and declared...

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to take down every last one of you!" And for effect, he activated the _**Akumu no Me**_, but just the part with the massive KI and enforced his threat which left everybody frozen in their seats. A moment passed and something unexpected was felt. Naruto felt the same kind of KI as Kyuubi's being radiated from two people. Naruto looked over at one of them. He was a sand shinobi who has red hair and the kanji for 'love' on his forehead. He also had a gourd on his back. Naruto looked at the other source. It was a female with blonde hair tied up into two pigtails. She was a Cloud shinobi.

"**Kit, those auras..."**

"_I know, isn't it the same kind as yours?"_

"**It is...which only means one thing. Those two have demons sealed in them."**

"_Do you know which ones?"_ Kyuubi thought for a moment.

"**The female smells like Nekomata and the male looks like he has Shukaku from the rings around his eyes."** Before Kyuubi could explain further, the female and the redhead both got up and walked to Naruto. The Konoha genins behind him prepared for anything as they watched. When they finally reached Naruto, they stopped and stared at each other, eyes shifting back and forth. All the genin could feel intense tension in the air and the Konoha ninja was prepared to fight if necessary. Even the Hokage watching was tense at what could happen. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the silence was finally broken.

"Kyuubi, Shukaku." The blonde girl spoke.

"Nekomata, Kyuubi." The redhead spoke.

"Shukaku, Nekomata." Naruto spoke up.

"So, looks like there are more jinchuriki then I thought." The girl thought out loud.

"So who are you guys anyway?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Yugito Nii of the Cloud." The blonde replied.

"Sabaku no Gaara. The redhead announced.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf." The three stared at each other for some more but Sasuke interrupted by putting his hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Hey, you shouldn't..." Sasuke didn't get to finish his sentence because the cork on Gaara's gourd popped out and Sasuke was sent flying into the wall, violently, by his sand. Unfortunely for Sasuke, his pride was about to be dealt a major blow. His head, when he made contact with the wall, didn't stop there as it went through the wall but the worst part was his belt buckle snapped and his pants fell down...to reveal rubber ducky underwear. Everybody was silent as they stared at Sasuke as he tried to pull himself off the wall then all at once, everybody burst out laughing, except for Gaara. He just stood there staring at Sasuke, but Naruto caught a glimpse of a twitch on his lips.

Sasuke, having pulled himself out of the wall, wondered what everybody was laughing at, until he felt a breeze and realized, to his embarrassment, that his pants fell down. Sasuke pulled up his pants and turned around and attempted to fix his belt while muttering curses. Meanwhile, the laughter died down until it was snickers. Sasuke had managed to repair his belt to hold for a while until he was able to get a new one. There was a loud bang and a large cloud appeared and Ibiki Morino, along with several proctors, stood in front of the caulk board.

"Alright punks, shut up and listen up. My name is Ibiki Morino, head proctor for the 1st exam." Ibiki enforced his statement with considerable KI. Naruto smirked. He knew Ibiki and his mind games, after all, who was it that Ibiki tested on to confirm that he was still sane?

Naruto.

"Numbers are going to be passed around and after you get your numbers, sit in the right seat." Ibiki announced. A box was passed around and everybody drew numbers and sat down in their seats. Naruto was in the middle with Sakura behind him and Sasuke in front. Yugito was all the way to the side and Gaara was in the front. "Alright, let me explain the rules for this exam…"

* * *

_Elsewhere_

"So how do you think your team will do on the exam, Asuma?" The said man blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"I know my team will pass. Shikamaru will get them through it, but what about your team Kakashi?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I didn't know that Ibiki would be the proctor for the first exam."

"Who's Ibiki?" The crimson eyed woman asked.

"That's right, you are a fairly new jounin and you don't know about him." Just then the door opened and the newly-made jounin of Konoha, Hidan stepped in and flopped down on the couch.

"Damn, those fuckers sure know how to give a test, seriously." Hidan turned toward Kakashi. "Has the exam started yet?" Seeing Kakashi's nod, he sighed.

"You were telling me about Ibiki?" Kurenai reminded Asuma. He nodded.

"Ibiki is the head of the torture division. He is the best at finding out information from somebody."

"What do you mean?"

"He plays with your mind and messes with it. That's how he runs. He doesn't deal with the body, he deals with the mind." Kakashi finished for him and Hidan turned toward him, interested.

"Really? I would love to meet this guy."

"I bet you do, but the one I'm worried about is Naruto. Sakura can answer the questions without having to cheat and Sasuke can use his Sharingan but I can't figure out how Naruto is going to do it."

"He'll come through." Hidan said before getting up. "Now, I need some chocolate."

* * *

_Back to the exam_

Naruto was sweating bullets. He took one look at the test and realized that he wasn't smart enough to answer the questions and coupled with the threat of expulsion made Naruto sweat like crazy. He couldn't cheat, it was too risky. This train of thought would have continued if not for a familiar tap reached his ears.

"_Naruto-kun, can you hear me?"_ It was Morse code that Kakashi taught them. Picking up his pencil, he answered.

"_Yeah, I can hear you."_

"_How are you doing? I can see you shaking from here."_

"_Sakura-chan, I can't answer any of these questions. I'm going to fail the exam and you guys are going to fail as well."_ The tapping time increased as he got more worried.

"_Naruto, listen to me. You need to cheat. That's the whole purpose of the exams, finding information covertly."_

"_Why can't you tell me the answers?"_

"_I don't want to risk the proctors listening in and taking points away from me. You need to find a way."_ Unknown to them, the proctors were listening in. The tapping ceased and Naruto was left with his thoughts on how to cheat. He racked his brain with thoughts on how to do it. Kage Bunshin? No, that would be too obvious. Great, he knew what he had to do but have no way of doing it. Frustrated, he banged his head on the desk and caught a glimpse of the snake seal on his arm. He stared at it for a moment until an idea sparked in his head. Biting his thumb discreetly and put his hands under his shirt, and using a very small amount of chakra, summoned a black garden snake. The snake traveled up his stomach until he reached Naruto's ears and spoke in the language of snakes.

"_Master, what is your wish?"_ Naruto responded, using parseltongue to talk to the snake discreetly. To anyone else hearing it, it would just seem like Naruto was hissing.

"_Go to Sakura-chan and get the answers for this test without anybody seeing you."_

"_Your wish is my command."_ The snake hissed at him before turning his head and looking for the pink haired girl. After finding her, he slithered back down Naruto's body and made his way across the floor, staying in the shadows. He finally reached Sakura's foot and poked her a couple of times to let her know he's down there. Tapping her foot in acknowledgement, the snake started to slither up her legs. Sakura inhaled sharply when he came across a certain place in between her legs. The snake traveled up and went under every piece of clothing she had. Her mouth turned into an angry one. What was he doing, feeling her up? She was going to pound that snake the next chance she got. The snake popped out near her ear. _"My master wishes to cheat off of you."_

"_Right…and feeling me up on the way up here was part of that wish?" _She hissed at the snake. She thought she saw a smirk appear on the snake's mouth.

"_Not really, that was all me."_ The snake ducked quickly to avoid the hand trying to grab him. _"Now, let me get the answers and I'll be out of your hair, literally."_ The snake traveled up into her hair which caused her to shiver. The snake kept going until he reached her headband which she loosened and the snake popped his head out slightly to get a look at the answers. Sakura had already finished the test and was waiting. Suddenly Sakura's head fell down and the snake was worried that he did something wrong but was relieved when she got back up but something was wrong. Her aura was different. Sliding out further to get a good look, he knew something was wrong. For one thing, she froze like she didn't know about him. Another thing was her eyes; they were blue instead of green. _"Who are you?"_ A moment passed while Sakura stared at the snake in disbelief before Sakura opened her mouth to respond but the snake interrupted. _"Don't bother. If you are who I think you are, you won't be able to respond. Are you the Yamanka girl?"_ She nodded. _"You cheating too?"_ Another nod. _"Get your answers and leave before I bite you."_ She nodded one last time before turning her attention to the paper in front of her. After a couple of minutes, Sakura's head slumped again and the real Sakura was back. _"Mistress, you alright?" _

"_Yeah, what happened?"_

"_Ino invaded your mind to cheat off of you."_

"_Oh, I thought I felt her."_

"_I have my answers so I will be going."_ The snake traveled back down her body and headed back to his master. After reaching Naruto, the snake traveled up his body and to his ears and whispered the answers to Naruto who wrote them down. Suddenly, a shiver went up his spine and he felt impending doom. Covertly, he looked around the room. Nothing seemed to be amiss but the feeling was still there. The sharp voice of Ibiki brought him out of his thoughts.

* * *

_Outside Konoha_

A man stood on top of a tree overlooking Konoha. He had long, silver hair and green vertical eyes. He had on black clothes and silver armor shoulder pads. In his hand was a very long, black, sword. He closed his eyes and tried to find the being that attracted him in the first place. He felt its energy recently and tracked it to this village. Sighing, he opened his eyes. He could feel the energy all over the village but he couldn't pinpoint it. He would just have to look the hard way. He jumped toward the next tree and kept going until he was over the wall.

* * *

_Back to the exams_

There was silence. Ibiki had just informed them that if you fail this exam, you will never become a chunnin ever. He gave them the option to quit and most of them took it and Naruto was close to taking it. He slowly raised his hand and suddenly slammed it down and stood up, determination in his eyes.

"Don't fuck with me! Being a ninja is all about taking risks and we wouldn't be here right now if we weren't prepared to take risks so don't you dare sprout that nonsense!" Naruto slammed back into his chair full of confidence and Sakura couldn't help but feel proud.

"Is that so? This decision will affect the rest of your life." There was silence all around; all the confidence was enforced by Naruto's declaration. "Alright if nobody else will quit, I guess it is my duty to inform you that…" He trailed off to get the suspense going and it was working judging by the looks on their faces. "You pass the first exam." A moment of silence then…

"WHAT?" Everybody started shouting.

"SHUT UP!" Everybody quieted down. "Let me explain…"

* * *

_Somewhere in the village_

He was in the village now and was wondering the streets. He looked around. He was inside the aura of energy that the sword was putting out and now that he was in, he could sense the sword a little better. It was stationary right now in the middle half of the village. He was close, he could feel it.

* * *

_Back to the exam_

"Alright, now that you have passed the exam…" Ibiki didn't finish his sentence because at that time, a large black ball crashed through the window and unfurled itself and kunai stuck themselves on the ceilings and floors to reveal a woman and a banner saying "Anko Mitarashi – Proctor of the Second Exam." Sakura stared at the newcomer and promptly started to bang her head on the desk.

"Oh kami, not her."

"Alright brats! My name is Anko Mitarashi and I'm the proctor of the second exam and now all of you come with me!" Anko shouted striking a pose. She was met with silence expect for the sound of Sakura hitting her head on the desk. Ibiki stepped from behind the banner.

"Anko, you're early again." Anko's face turned into a sheepish look as she realized that she was early. She started to rub the back of her head. "Ah my bad." It was then she got a look at the remaining people. "27 teams? You're getting soft."

"We have a good batch this year and someone inspired them to stay." Ibiki changed the direction his eyes were looking at and Anko followed, only to have a grin put on her face.

"NAARRRUUUTTTOOO-KUNNNN!" Naruto yelped and ducked under the desk. He still hasn't forgotten what she almost did to him recently. Let's just say that if it wasn't for the timely intervention of Kakashi (who happened to be walking by coincidently), Naruto wouldn't be a virgin anymore. When Sakura heard about that, she reacted accordingly...by summoning Manda to hunt down the snake bitch. Naruto thought he was safe under the desk but he was wrong as Anko's head appeared in above his head in front of him. "Aww, why you hiding from me Naru-chan? You don't like me anymore?" She finished with a pout. Naruto shakily shook his head.

"It's not that...it's just you surprised me last time and I'm kinda afraid." He said that last part quietly.

"Aww, you should know by now that...well well, what do we have here?" Anko remarked feeling the cold sensation of a blade pressed up against her throat. Anko raised her head to face a fuming Sakura that looked ready to kill. "What's wrong Sakura–_chan_? She asked, using Naruto's pet nickname for her. If anything, this seemed to anger her more.

"Get away from him, bitch." She responded adding more pressure on the blade. Anko dropped on the floor and stood up, just in time for Ibiki's hand to grab her coat and yank her back.

"Anko, you should know by now that she is very protective of Naruto." Ibiki whispered in her ear.

"I know that." She whispered back. "I just wanted to see how railed up I can get her."

"Best not experiment." Ibiki released his hand from her coat and led everybody out of the door and led them to a fenced off area.

"Alright brats, this is where you will take the second part of the exam." Behind Anko was a forest that reeked of death.

"What is this place?" Anko smirked.

"This is Training Ground 44 aka 'The Forest of Death.'" A huge snake appeared and disappeared as if to emphasize her point. "Here is your objective." She pulled out two scrolls. "Each team will be given one of these scrolls and your objective is to get the other one by any means necessary, even if it means to kill."

Naruto's eye twitched.

"But first you have to sign these release forms that won't hold us responsible for anything that happens to any of you." Anko gave the release forms to somebody and was going around.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

The silver hair man finally located what he had been looking for. His eye rests on a young boy with blonde, spiky hair and whisker marks on his cheeks. He watched as he signed a form and went into a booth and come out and made his way toward a gate.

"_A child…that sword chose a child? This is interesting, very interesting. I look forward to fighting him."_

* * *

_Gate_

"BEGIN!" The gate flew open and Team 7 rushed through it to start on their plan.

* * *

_Later_

"This sucks." Team 7 has been traveling the forest for a day and still no luck in finding a team. They stopped to take a break near a river and to get something to eat. That's when it happened. 3 Rain nins jumped down from the trees and knocked each genin down and put a kunai to their throat.

"Who has the scroll?" A grunt was their response. "I'll say again, who has the scroll." Naruto smirked at the ninja before disappearing in a poof of smoke followed by his teammates. There was a moment of confusion before panic set in as 3 huge snakes plowed out of the tree cover and eat them, injecting them with their venom paralyzing them in the process, before they had a chance to react. The real Team 7 stepped out smirking all the way.

"They paralyzed yet?" Naruto asked the snake who nodded. They opened their mouths and spat out the Rain nins and searched them. They retrieved some food packs, explosive notes, extra weapons, and a Heaven scroll to go with their Earth scroll. "Thanks a lot." He said to the snakes who disappeared. "Alright, now that we got our scroll, let's head toward the tower." They nodded and set off.

* * *

_Nearby_

The man was smirking. He now understands why the sword chose him, because it was attracted by Kyuubi. Maybe he will get a good fight after all. A presence shifted his attention. It was a powerful presence, not like the weaklings that was in this forest.

"_I'll just sit back and watch."_ The man thought.

_Back to the three_

"Who the fuck are you?"

A lone Grass nin just appeared on a tree trunk in front of Team 7. Instantly, Naruto and Sakura knew that something was weird about this girl. They could feel that her soul doesn't match her body, almost like the soul was foreign to her.

"_**His body."**_ Soul Edge suddenly stated.

"_Wha..."_

"_**That soul belongs to a male body and what's it doing in a female body, I don't even want to think about it."**_ He finished talking and Naruto was left in shock. He shivered at the thoughts that came involuntary into his mind. His mind went back to the real world where the Grass nin just finished explaining her presence.

"Now if you don't mind, I want your scroll." The Grass nin leapt off and begun the attack.

* * *

_Back to the stranger_

The stranger was impressed. Those three were holding their own against the attacker, despite him holding his power back. He watched as the black haired boy launched several fire attacks against him while he dodged easily. The blonde haired boy, which he learned his name was Naruto, used Kage Bunshin, quite a number of them too, and tried to overpower the male. He already figured out who the attacker really was, but he was confused as too why Naruto wasn't using Soul Edge. He watched as one of the fire attacks that the duck butt hair boy launched against him finally connected and incinerated him, or so they thought. The most damage was he melted the face off and he saw the surprised looks they had when he just pulled it right off. He laughed at the expression they had when he introduced himself as Orochimaru of the Sannin. It was then that Naruto drew Soul Edge.

"_I see. He didn't draw it before because he felt that it wasn't needed. Well, he needs it now."_

He saw Orochimaru stunned for a moment before snapping out of it just in time to avoid a slash from the sword and another one from Sakura. This continued for a while until Orochimaru finally had enough. He disappeared from view for a second before reappearing in front of Sakura and delivering a heavy punch that sent her flying to a tree and he thought he heard something crack. Then he did the same thing to Naruto and then he turned his sights to butt head and suddenly his head flew at him and Orochimaru sunk his teeth in his neck. He stayed there for a moment before retracting his head and he fell on the ground in agony. Orochimaru thought he was done but a sudden release of Kyuubi's chakra made him think otherwise. Both men looked at a rising Naruto and his enhanced features. He snarled and lunged toward Orochimaru and tried to kill the bastard, but he could see that Orochimaru had something planned. Deciding he seen enough, he got up and grabbing his sword, jumped off the tree branch and intercepted Orochimaru before he could place a counter seal on Naruto. To say Orochimaru was surprised would be an understatement.

"If you don't mind, I would like to have a talk with this boy." Orochimaru snarled.

"Who the fuck do you think you are to go against me?" The man smirked.

"My name is Sephiroth and I would suggest you start running." Sephiroth pushed back Orochimaru, who dropped Naruto and Sephiroth caught him before he fell into the ground, knocked out from the sudden withdrawal of Kyuubi's chakra and exhaustion. Sending _mana_ into his blade, he swung it and unleashed a wave of fire toward Orochimaru that burnt anything in its path. Orochimaru barely dodge it and decided to make a tactical retreat. He could feel the extreme power emanating from him and he wouldn't have a chance if he went all out. Sephiroth watched as Orochimaru disappeared into the woods and turned around to retrieve the unconscious boy teammates and take them to a safe place when he felt considerable KI behind him. He turned around and saw a red head with sand circling around him. The other one was a blonde hair girl whose body was smoking. Sephiroth smirked. He recognized them now, or rather the demons within them. "Well well, what do we have here? The Brethren of Demons is partially reunited." Nobody said anything at first, but then the red head spoke.

"Sephiroth...my mother told me about you."

"Really, what did she say?"

"That you were the only human to walk the Demonic Plane and live to tell the tale." A grin appeared on his face.

"She was right."

"What are you doing with Uzumaki?" Sephiroth shrugged.

"I was going to take them to a safe place for them to recover." Now it was the girl's turn to speak.

"Do they have both scrolls?" Sephiroth nodded. "Then come with us to the tower. We already have both scrolls and were heading there when we felt Kyuubi's chakra spike." Sephiroth thought for a moment.

"Sounds good to me." Sephiroth started to walk and the other ninja's followed, still wary of this warrior.

* * *

_In the bushes_

"Ino, did that just happen?" Chouji asked his teammate Ino. What they just witnessed was very shocking and it left all three of them stunned. Shikamaru was concerned about something else when a specific name was mentioned and how it was said.

"I-I think it did. That guy took on a Sannin and didn't even break a sweat.

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know. I want to make sure Naruto and Sakura are alright but I don't want to risk getting killed by those guys." Nobody noticed the presence behind them.

"Then come with us." A voice sounded out causing them to jump in surprise, even Shikamaru. They turned around faster then you can blink and came face to face with the terrifying Sand nin.

"W-what did you say?" Shikamaru stuttered out.

"I said 'come with us.' I knew you were there when you first arrived and your intention was to help your teammates, so I will say it again, come with us if you want to find out about Naruto and Sakura and if you need a scroll, I have extras." Ino didn't respond, just merely nodded her head, her concern for Sakura and Naruto to override her fear. She slowly got up and motioned to her teammates to follow, which they did after some hesitation. They followed after the Sand nin toward the tower and the next phase of the Chunnin exam.

* * *

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Next chapter is the start of the Prelims and the appearance of a long awaited character. Tell me how I did on the Sasuke bashing and if I over did it or not because I need to know how far I can go without it being annoying. Also, I hope you don't mind Sephiroth making an appearance; I was going to use Link but changed my mind. The Brethren of Demons will be explained soon.

Also...

NIGHT TERROR IS SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!

I finally reached him and he is so awesome. For those of you that don't know, Night Terror is the secret boss of SCIII. He beat me a LOT but he is awesome. I plan on using him in the future.

_**Gnosismaster**_


	10. The Nightmare is alive

_**Naruto Uzumaki…Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

_**(There was a slight mistake with the chapter numbers)**_

* * *

_Start of the Prelims_

It has been a 4 days since Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Yugito, and Sephiroth carrying Team 7 arrived at the tower. Team 7 was almost disqualified but was let in after Sephiroth explained the situation. Sasuke was taken to the infirmary as well as Sakura. Naruto just needed some rest. When Sephiroth was asked why he was here, he said he was a summons brought out by Naruto (which was true in a way). The Hokage wasn't sure if he was lying or not but eventually he was allowed to stay. When Sakura woke up, she discovered that she had a couple of broken ribs and they were healed by the doctors and Soul Calibur as well. After the doctors checked her over again, she went to visit Naruto's room to see a stranger there who identified himself as the one who saved them and his name was Sephiroth. When she asked him why he saved them, he merely replied.

"_I want to fight this boy and it is not in our best interests if he dies."_

Sakura could tell that he means no harm to Naruto for now so she didn't go further. Soon it was time everybody to head down to the arena and they found out that because of the number of people that passed the second exam, they will have to hold a preliminary tournament to dwindle that number down. Naruto and Sakura saw Sasuke off on the side. Soon the prelims started and the first round was up.

The first round was between Dosu vs. Yoroi.

The fight didn't last very long. Yoroi tried to get in close but every time Dosu took a swipe at him, he was hit by Dosu's sound attacks and eventually passed out, thus making Dosu the winner.

The second round was between Tenten vs. Temari.

Tenten fought admirable but was defeated by Temari's wind attacks and ended up having some of her own weapons strike her body.

The screen lit up and the next round of fighters appeared.

_Sakura Haruno vs. Kin_

Naruto gave Sakura a hug of encouragement as she passed Naruto and gave one back. She reached the floor and stood in front of Kin.

"This'll be quick." Remarked Kin with a smile on her face.

"I doubt that." Said Sakura as she drew her sword. The proctor looked at both girls before starting the match.

Immediately, Kin took out and threw 2 senbon which Sakura dodged but heard bells attached to them. The senbon lodged in the wall behind Sakura and she got up with a smirk.

"Is that the best you can do?" The smirk on Kin's face set off a red flag in her mind. Suddenly, a pain shot through her and she fell to the ground, holding her ears in pain.

"You like it?" She heard Kin say but she didn't hear what she said after that, she was hearing a ringing in her ears. She opened her eyes to see a barrage of senbon heading toward her and she got up and barely dodged only to fall down because her equilibrium was shot to hell. Gathering chakra in her hand, she started to heal it. She learned a basic healing jutsu from Mitsurugi and Sakura realized that this was going to keep happening unless she does something. She can't get close because Kin would just do it again. She distinctively heard Naruto cheer her on. She sighed. Sometimes, she just wants to lie down and listen to some music…her eyes widened. That's it!

Struggling, Sakura managed to get up and face Kin, who was about to launch another wave. Sakura brought her sword in front of her and closed her eyes and started to send chakra to her sword. When she felt there was enough, she released the energy

The chakra released from the sword and encompassed the room, starting the genjutsu. Kin was startled when the room suddenly changed from a room to a devastated landscape with trees on fire. She looked around and saw Sakura marching toward her. She heard a sound behind her and saw another Sakura walking toward her…and another...and another…and another. Soon, Kin was surrounded by Sakura's walking toward her. Kin tried to dispel the illusion but it was no use, her mind was still afraid. When one of the Sakura's reached within earshot, she heard her mutter something.

"_**Genjutsu: Samurai's Requiem." **_The nearest Sakura lunged at her and slashed her mid-section which caused her to spin around, and the strike produced a musical note, only to see another Sakura running at her and made another attack and this continued for every Sakura there, which was about 50+ and each note was a note in a song. Kin spun again, blood everywhere as well as cuts and gashes. The last Sakura ran to her and made a vertical, slightly diagonal slash starting from right foot all the way to her forehead, leaving a very bloody gash that will leave a scar and produced the last note in the song. Kin faltered for a moment before falling down, unconscious and near death. The illusion dissolved and they were back into the room. There was silence for a moment before a loud cheer erupted from Naruto and he ran down and captured Sakura in a bear hug, congratulating her and telling her that her song was one of her most beautiful pieces ever. That earned him a blush from the pink haired girl and a kiss.

However, if one was looking at Sephiroth, one would see his eyebrow twitching...violently.

The proctor declared Sakura the winner and the medics took Kin away. She heard clapping and she saw Mitsurugi up in the stands giving her a smile and clapping his hands. She smiled back. Naruto led Sakura back up the stairs, just in time for the next set of names to appear.

_Tsurugi vs. Kankuro_

The fight went by quickly. Tsurugi had wrapped his body around Kankuro and broke his neck but it was revealed that the body that he broke the neck of was a puppet and Tsurugi was killed.

_(The rest of the fights were as follows)_

_Zaku vs. Shino (winner)_

_Yugito (winner) vs. Kabuto_

_Chouji vs. Shikamaru (winner)_

_Ino (winner) vs. Kiba _

_Neji (winner) vs. Hinata_

_Lee (winner) vs. Sasuke_

The next set of fights was the last one.

_Gaara vs. Naruto_

Naruto leapt down to the arena floor after Sakura gave him a kiss for good luck. Naruto reached the floor to face Gaara. They stared at each other for a while. As they stared, Sakura was suddenly reminded of a song that she heard recently. It was the song _**Meaning of Life**_ by _**Disturbed**_. At first, she didn't like the group **_Disturbed_** but Hidan, she wouldn't admit out loud, got her hooked on the band. Their songs seemed to describe her's and Naruto's life perfectly.

* * *

_**Chorus 1  
Get Psycho,  
I wanna get psycho,  
Get Psycho,  
I wanna, wanna, wanna, wanna,  
Chorus 1 **_

I wanna get psycho,  
Run you little bitch!  
I want your power glowing, juicy flowing, red hot  
Meaning of Life  
It's not enough to have a little taste,  
I want the whole damn thing  
Now can you dig it.  
Need to get Psycho,  
Wanna hear you say it  
Say you want it, Need it  
Don't wanna wait until we finish the show  
It's not enough, you hunger for more  
You're one twisted little fuck  
and now you wanna get psycho with me.

* * *

"Begin." The proctor shouted off and sand erupted from Gaara's gourd and lunged toward him. Naruto grabbed behind him and pulled out Soul Edge and slashed at the sand but didn't waste any time in moving to attack Gaara but the sand formed a wall between the sword and Gaara. The remaining sand knocked back Naruto who landed with a grunt on the wall. Naruto opened his eyes and saw a wave of sand coming toward him. He ducked out of the way and got a good look at Gaara's face. It was insane.

* * *

_**Chorus 2  
Give in, Give in, Decide.  
Give in, Give in, Decide.  
Give in.  
(repeat above)  
Chorus 2 **_

Repeat Chorus 1

I wanna get psycho,  
Scratch my itch,  
Give me your power glowin', Juicy flowin', Red Hot  
Meaning of Life  
It's not enough to have a little piece  
I want the whole damn thing  
Now can you dig it  
Need to get psycho  
Wanna hear you scream  
Tell me to take you, scare you, fuck you.  
After we finish the show  
It's not enough, You listening Whore?  
You're one twisted little fuck  
And now you wanna get psycho with me.

* * *

"_Hey Kyuubi?"_

"**Yeah brat?"**

"_Is that normal for a container of Shukaku?"_

"**Let me see."** Naruto gave Kyuubi access to his eyes and Kyuubi saw Gaara.** "I see..."**

"_What?"_

"**Normally, his vessels are aggressive and bloodthirsty but this guy is too aggressive. It's like something is fueling it. I bet it is an insanity seal."**

"_Where is it and how can I get rid of it?"_ Soul Edge spoke up.

"_**Just stab him and I'll take care of it."**_

"_You?"_

"_**Yeah me. I am on par with the Shinigami when it comes to souls. Just trust me."**_

"_I don't know if I can."_

"**I'll keep him in control."**

"_Alright."_

Landing on his feet from avoiding the sand, Naruto charged Gaara while dodging left and right from the sand. When he was within five feet of Gaara, he was suddenly flung back by the sand on the floor. Naruto landed pretty hard on his back and took the breath out of him. He didn't get up right away and that was just what Gaara needed to encompass Naruto in a coffin and raise him off the ground. Naruto couldn't move as the sand moved to cover his face. The last thing he saw was Gaara's insane face before Naruto's face was covered up.

* * *

_**Chorus 2 **_

I can feel your blood,  
Pumpin' through my veins,  
Spillin' on my soul,  
and now the hunger is getting bigger,  
Come a little closer now, Pretentious Whore  
and pull my trigger,  
Free the violence that is building in me  
I see no end of the ride, Murder, Suicide, is how I've beenfeeling lately.  
Come a little closer now pretentious whore,  
I'm reeling with the feeling that I can't ignore,  
(repeat above x3)  
and the need to get Psycho is not a question to me.

Repeat Chorus 1

* * *

Standing on the stands, Sakura watched with horror Gaara's sand covered up Naruto. She was about to go down and help him but was stopped by Sephiroth's hand.

"_Just watch. Something big is going to happen."_

He said that to her while still keeping her here. She couldn't do that and she formulated ways to escape him but her heart stopped when she heard the fatal words being spoken.

"_**Desert Funeral."**_ The sand around Naruto constricted itself, crushing the occupant inside. Sakura stared at the sand while time seemed to flow down. She saw blood dripping from the sand and Sakura was ready to kill but that thought didn't last long as she, and the others, were knocked back by a sudden explosion of energy…Soul Edge's energy, Sakura noted. Sakura returned her sights to the floating sand, to discover that it somehow got bigger in the couple of seconds she wasn't looking at it, much bigger. A voice shouted from the sand, but to Sakura's horror, it wasn't Naruto's.

"_**THE NIGHTMARE WILL NEVER DIE!" **_The sand exploded and a figure dropped to the ground and stood up. The onlookers couldn't get a good look because of the sand falling down but when the sand cleared, there were noticeable reactions.

Tenten screamed bloody murder before fainting.

Neji dropped to the floor, gasping in shock, all the while pointing at the figure like he was trying to accuse him of something.

Inner Sakura screamed a much higher bloody murder (and gave Sakura a MASSIVE headache) and fainted at seeing her killer after so long.

The Hokage dropped his pipe in shock.

Sephiroth chuckled, then erupted into full-blown laughter.

Tira bowed down, worshipping her master.

Soul Calibur reacted…violently, causing Sakura to take her sword off and drop it.

There, in Naruto place, was a…_thing_…dressed in blue armor, with gold lines around it, but his right arm looked like an arm that a demon would have. It had three fingers, a mouth with very sharp teeth on his shoulder and 4 very big fangs, two the top of the mouth and two on the bottom (not part of the actual mouth itself). He had another mouth on his chest. His eyes were red, but the eyes were bright and they couldn't see any irises. He stared at Gaara who looked very scared.

"_**Offer your soul…to the unending darkness."**_ The Azure Knight said before launching himself for the attack.

* * *

_In the stands_

"What…is that…thing?" Kakashi asked, voice trembling. Surprisingly, it was Sakura who answered.

"I…think that's…Nightmare." Sakura stated, still feeling the headache Inner Sakura caused.

"How do you know that?"

"My inner persona told me about him."

"Interesting." Sephiroth spoke up. "Did she tell you how he gains power?" Sakura looked at Sephiroth, who had a creepy smile on his face. She shook her head. "He gains power by killing and absorbing souls. The more evil they are, the more powerful he gets. Do you know why I'm interested in him?" Again, she shook her head. "I'm interested in him because he is as powerful as me." That earned a gasp from the members of Team 10 who saw a fraction of that power. "Well, not right now, but when he is at his peak, that's when the fun starts." A violent rumble drew their attention back to the floor where Nightmare was destroying the floor attacking Gaara. He had made contact as evident as the blood on him. Gaara wrapped sand around himself in a last ditch attempt to block but Nightmare charged his sword with a level 2 Soul Charge and lighting followed the golf-style attack and Gaara's defense fell down with the strike, but Nightmare wasn't done as he swung Soul Edge like a bat with lighting following again and connected with him and he flew across the room, severely wounded.

Nightmare followed and soon reached him. Gaara saw him and started to beg to leave him alone, but Nightmare ignored him. He brought up his sword and stabbed him, but he didn't kill him. Instead, Soul Edge sought out the Insanity Seal and destroyed it and at that precise moment, Gaara let out a blood-curling scream that sent shivers through everybody, except Sephiroth, he shivered in delight. A moment passed and Nightmare withdrew his sword. Gaara wasn't dead, just unconscious. The insanity seal was broken that messed him up and Soul Edge found problems with the seal itself so he fixed it so that he can now sleep peacefully. Nightmare felt a presence behind him and he turned to see the Hokage with a worried look on his face.

"_**Old man, you alright? You look kind of pale. You aren't sick are you?"**_

A moment of silence...before everybody face faulted. Did Nightmare just call the Hokage an old man? The only one who calls the Hokage old man is...

"Naruto?" Nightmare turned at the sound to see Sakura walking up to him with Sephiroth and Mitsurugi behind her.

"_**Yes Sakura-chan?"**_

"Naruto...is that really you?"

"_**Yeah, it's me. Why would you think otherwise?"**_ Naruto/Nightmare asked confused.

"Well, because..." Sakura trailed off, not sure how to say it but Naruto understood.

"_**I see...it's this armor isn't it?"**_ Sakura nodded.

"What is it?"

"_**This is the armor of Nightmare. Apparently, that Nightmare contract that Soul Edge gave me allows me to use his armor and even give it a life of its own. It feels so good, like I can do anything."**_

"Can you take if off?" Sakura tried not to let the desperation seep into her request. Lucky, Naruto didn't catch it.

"_**Yeah, just give me a second."**_ A cloud of darkness surrounded Nightmare before dissolving leaving the 12 year old boy Naruto in the place of Nightmare. Sakura rushed to him and gave him the biggest hug in his life, while shedding tears. When Naruto asked why she was crying, she replied that she thought that he lost himself to the sword. Naruto assured her that it will never happen. Meanwhile, the proctor recovered himself and declared Naruto the winner. Soon after, the Hokage said that the 3rd exams were a month away and the winners have that time to prepare and that the exams were a replacement for war. Soon, the Hokage dismissed them and Naruto turned around to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to face Ino.

"Yes Ino?"

"Naruto, if you're not doing anything right now, can we go somewhere to talk?" Naruto nodded and left to find a good place. Sakura watched with a smile. Looks like she finally found the courage.

* * *

_A month later_

It has been a month since the prelims and since Ino asked to talk to Naruto. After they had gotten a room, Ino first apologized and explained what happened that day. Naruto listened as she talked, not saying a word. When she finished, she closed her eyes, expected Naruto to start hitting her, but what she felt was something totally different. She felt Naruto's warm embrace and Ino couldn't take it, she cried, worst then when she cried in Sakura's arms. Naruto just held her, petting Ino's hair and offering words of comfort. It took a long time before Ino calmed down. After she stopped crying, she asked him why won't he hate her like he should? He merely replied that he knew that she didn't know any better and he doesn't hold a grudge. She smile and gave him a hug, thanking him as well and he returned the hug as well. After a few minutes, they separated. Ino got up to leave but just as she was about to turn, gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out of the room. Naruto smiled and followed, unaware of Sakura hiding in the shadow.

Naruto didn't know of what to make of Sakura's happy mood when he met up with her.

The next day, Jiraiya had taken Naruto and started to train him of the Rasengan. During the weeks Naruto trained, a stranger was watching Naruto, just observing him and not doing anything. Jiraiya knew who it was and decided to let her satisfy her curiosity. It wasn't until the 3rd week of Naruto-watching that she decided to come out.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Naruto growled in frustration. He couldn't get past the first stage for the Rasengan. The objective was to make the water balloon pop, not make it spring a leak. Jiraiya left already, most likely to do some more 'research' as he called it. Naruto picked up another balloon, filled with water, and was about to try again but a voice interrupted him._

"_Naruto?" Naruto dropped his balloon in shock and turned around to see Tsunade walk up to him. Naruto shouted in alarm._

"_You again? I'm not going to let you try to kill me again!" Naruto reached up to grab Soul Edge but a shout from Tsunade stopped him._

"_Wait!" Naruto stopped. "I just want to talk."_

"_Why would you want to talk?" Tsunade looked away._

"_I realized that I overreacted." Tsunade looked back at him. "I watched you for a while and I realized that it doesn't have any control over you, but I would like to get to know you." The way Tsunade spoke made Naruto believe that she was telling the truth. Releasing his grip on his sword, he motioned Tsunade to sit beside him and they talked, getting to know one another. _

_Jiraiya watched in the trees Naruto and Tsunade talk. He prepared himself in case Tsunade lied to get close enough to try another attempt but it looked like she really wanted to talk with him. They talked for hours and Jiraiya was getting sleepy. Then something happened that shocked Jiraiya to no end. Tsunade reached behind her head and took off her necklace and gave it to Naruto. Jiraiya tried to listen in to their conversation as hard as he could. He could make out a sentence from Naruto._

"_I promise you, I will never fall victim to Soul Edge. I never betray my nindo."_

"_Naruto..." Jiraiya thought he heard a sob. "Thank you."_

_They ended their conversation with a hug with tears in their eyes. Jiraiya was amazed. Whatever they talked about must have been emotional. They reminded hugging for a while until Tsunade fell asleep. Gently, Naruto put her down and retrieved his jacket and covered her with it. Silently he walked away toward the tree where Jiraiya was perched. Jiraiya dropped down from the tree and quickly asked something he been waiting to ask ever since Tsunade gave him her necklace._

"_Naruto, what happened?" Naruto smirked._

"_Not telling." Jiraiya started to chase Naruto begging him while Naruto just laughed. Eventually they stopped and went to sleep._

_End Flashback_

* * *

The week after that, Gaara woke up and he, along with Yugito, sought out Naruto and had a very, very, long conversation that lasted up to a few days with no sleeping, eating, or going to the bathroom. Jiraiya was astonished that they could do that. Jiraiya found out from Naruto after they had done talking that their demons were separated for 10 years and had a lot to catch up on, and that the Sound and the Sand were planning an invasion of Konoha. Jiraiya almost missed it because he said it so calmly. He had to hear it again to make sure he wasn't getting old. Gaara have pledged his support along with Yugito. Jiraiya was amazed that Naruto could make a friend out of somebody that tried to kill him and another one from a village that the Hyuuga's despise very much.

It had been a few weeks after that and Naruto spent that time practicing fighting in Nightmare's armor and the new attacks that was available to him. Soon it was time for the 3rd stage of the chunnin exams to start, but there was one problem…

"Where's Naruto?" Sakura wondered out loud as she stood waiting. So far everybody arrived but Naruto and it was almost time for the fight to start but he wasn't there and it worried Sakura. The proctor checked his watch.

"One minute to go."

_59 seconds later_

A poof appeared in the middle of the stadium and Jiraiya and Naruto stood back to back. Naruto was decked out in some new clothes. "Are we late?" Genma smirked.

"You had one second left."

"Phew, that was close." Jiraiya disappeared and left Naruto. Sakura walked up to him and promptly smacked him upside the head.

"Where were you? I was worried."

"Sakura-chaaaan…" Naruto whined. "I overslept." Sakura watched Naruto before smiling.

"Well, at least you are here, baka-kun." Naruto chuckled at his new nickname.

"Ahem." The proctor cleared his throat catching the attention of everybody. "Now that we are all here, let's get this party started." After a brief announcement from the Hokage, the first fighters were called.

_Naruto vs. Neji_

Both fighters stood in the arena. They stood there facing each other, judging each other. Neji still haven't recovered from seeing the figure that has been haunting his nightmares come to life but he was composed enough to fight.

"Uzumaki."

"Neji."

"Fate has already decided that you lose today." Outside, his face was set in confidence, but on the inside, he wasn't so sure. Naruto smirked.

"You know Neji…if there is one thing I have learned since getting Soul Edge…" Naruto pulled out his sword and Neji felt a pang of fear enter his heart looking at it. "It is that nothing is bound by fate. We decide if we lose or win. We decide if we live or die." Neji narrowed his eyes.

"You're wrong. Fate has control over everybody."

Tira snorted at this.

Insert sad family story here (If you think I'm writing that long ass speech, you got another thing coming.) Naruto listened as Neji talked about his family and the cursed seal on his forehead. Neji soon finished and was greeted by a laugh from Naruto, which caused a vein to throb on Neji's forehead. "What's so funny, Uzumaki?"

"Nothing. I realized that you had a hard life but I had the worst. You say fate this and fate that and it seems to me that you are already dead. You resigned yourself to a life of despair. You want to know how I can stay happy despite all the glares and hatred thrown at me?" Curious, Neji nodded. "It is because I have hope and faith that everybody will realize that I am a human being that only wants to be acknowledged that he is alive and not just trash to be thrown away." Sakura was moved by his speech so much that she cried as well as Ino.

"That may be, but you will have to prove it to me before I'll believe it." Naruto smirked, a plan forming in his mind.

"Alright then, how about this?" Naruto raised both his hands after putting Soul Edge back on his back. "You have three options. You can choose my right hand, my chest, or my left hand, and that will decide which summon to use." Neji raised his eyebrow.

"Three summons? I thought you had two?" Naruto's grin became an evil grin and the words he spoke next paled many a face.

"I did." Neji also paled, realizing what he meant. "Well Neji? Choose or I will choose for you." Neji hesitated. His pale eyes shot back and forth between choices. He didn't want to risk bringing out Nightmare again and in a moment of panic, spoke his choice.

"Chest." Naruto's face told him he just made the wrong decision. A cloud of darkness sprang forth from the ground and covered Naruto. A second passed before it retreated back into the ground to reveal the source of his nightmares…Nightmare. Nightmare's red eyes stared at him and Neji was very afraid.

"_**Time for a bloodbath!"**_

The living nightmare started for Neji.

* * *

_In the stands_

Sakura sighed and rubbed her head. Her inner persona screamed and fainted again. She saw Nightmare a total of 5 times this past month and her inner self was still not used to it. She watched as Nightmare attack Neji without mercy. That was one thing she noticed about Naruto. Whenever Naruto was about to fight, his personality changes to something completely different. It seemed like Soul Edge has more influence then they originally thought.

"Hey Sakura?" Sakura turned to look at her best-friend-again Ino. They recovered their friendship when they realized that Sasuke was not worth chasing after. It was then they had a long overdue conversation. They talked to each other about what happened while they were apart. Sakura regretted making up with Ino for a moment when she told Ino about her little 'class' with Naruto. Ino's face had a weird gleam to it but she started asking her all these personal question like how big was he or how good was he in bed? That did it as Sakura lunged at Ino with the intention of ripping that smirk off her face. They rolled around in the grass, pushing and pulling at each other until they finally stopped, laughing their hearts out. They lied in the grass beside each other, while gasping for breath and their clothes all dirty and messy.

"Yeah Ino?" Ino smiled. She was also glad that they rekindled their friendship.

"Do you think that Naruto is truly happy, despite what he just said?" Sakura kept silent for a moment.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I know he is happy because he has me but sometimes during the night, when he thinks I'm asleep, I can hear him crying a little. He wants desperately to be seen as a human being and not has a monster or a demon and I'm not sure what to make of Soul Edge. From what Naruto told me, he hasn't been making any attempts to control him, even during his most vulnerable moments." Sakura has told Ino about Kyuubi already. Ino nodded, understanding what she is saying. "I'm willing to do anything for him, even betray this village." She said that last part softly. "But I don't know what to do." Sakura had a worried look on her face. Ino put her hand on Sakura's shoulder, comforting her.

"Just do what you feel is best. You are already helping him just by being there and everybody else is doing their part also, even if they don't know it. He has the respect and friendship of his peers." A violent rumble and a loud shout interrupted her speech for a second.

_**Get back here Hyuuga! I'm not done with you yet!"**_

When it subsided, she continued. "What I'm trying to say is that you are already doing your part and now it is up to the village whether or not they will see him as the innocent boy he really is." Sakura smiled and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Thank you Ino. I really needed that."

"No problem Sakura. If you ever need a boost, I will be there to help." Ino gave her one of Naruto's trademark grins, or at least tried to, causing Sakura to laugh a little. A big explosion turned their attention back to the arena floor.

Nightmare was beating the shit out of Neji. He had wounds all over and there were what looked to be spin marks on the ground.

"_**Are you ready to surrender Neji?"**_ Neji scowled.

"You'll have to kill me first!" Neji charged, only to be sent flying from Nightmare's uppercut. When Neji opened his eyes, he saw the point of Soul Edge almost touching his neck.

"_**What about now? I really prefer not to kill you."**_ Neji thought for a few seconds before sighing and giving up. Nightmare was covered once again and Naruto was back and holding out his hand.

"Come on Neji. Think of your defeat as a lesson that fate can be changed." Neji stared at Naruto in wondering before smirking and taking his hand and getting up. They shook hands and Naruto heard something foreign to him. He heard...clapping. He stared in wonder as he looked around and saw the entire stadium (and Sakura) cheering for him. Naruto smiled as he looked at the cheering Sakura who looked back and offered a smile in return. It was then he knew...that he was getting close to his dreams.

* * *

Another chapter gone. I am having a lot of fun writing this story. It is so easy to write for me. For those of you wondering, I do have a plot in mind and if you want a hint of what's to come...figure out what is the evil sword's name is in Ninja Gaiden. If anyone is wondering why Sephiroth's eyebrow was twitching, it was because Sakura's Samurai's Requiem was very closely related to Cloud's Omnislash (which it was based on) (at least I think it was called that).

As always, Read and Review. I love these reviews all of you are sending me.

_**-Gnosismaster**_


	11. The invasion has begun

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

_Chunnin Exams_

Soon after Neji was carried away by the medics, Naruto made his way up the stairs and soon was by Sakura's side. Naruto got a kiss on the lips they stayed that way until they heard the next match being called.

_Shino vs. Kankuro_

There wasn't a fight because Kankuro gave up.

_Shikamaru vs. Temari_

Shikamaru was lazy not to fight and was going to give up but was sent to the ground by a slap on the back from Naruto, but even that wasn't enough for Shikamaru to get motivated enough to fight. All it took was one attack from Temari and he was thinking up ways to win. The fight progressed and it ended up with Shikamaru giving up. That earned him many disappointed boos from the crowd.

_With the Hokage/Kazekage/Raikage_

"I'm impressed. At first I thought that Soul Edge would take over Naruto but apparently, I'm wrong." The Raikage mentioned. When he felt Soul Edge's energy, he assumed that it escaped so he sent a team to investigate. Imagine his surprise when he learned that the sword was in the hands of a young boy and in still in control. He wasn't sure of the boy's sanity so he sent his daughter, Yugito Nii and her team; unfortunately her teammates got killed by the Akatsuki, to determine how sane he is. He later found out that he was indeed sane and was the host of the Kyuubi no Yoko and that the Sand and Sound was planning an invasion. When she asked her father which side they would be on when the invasion happens, he merely replied that it was up to her.

It wasn't until a few days later that she decided that they would be on Konoha's side.

"To be honest, I wasn't sure if he could stay in control but he has proved me wrong." The Hokage replied.

"What I don't understand is why don't you use him as a weapon?" Asked the Kazekage. Both Kages looked at him.

"It is not our way to use a human being like that."

"Same here." The Kazekage humped and turned away to look at Shikamaru leaving the grounds.

"The thing is…is that a time may come that you may regret your decision not to turn him into a weapon." At that moment, a genjutsu was cast over the crowd, having them fall asleep. The two guards with the Kazekage rushed forward and killed the two people that were beside the Hokage and the Raikage. The Kazekage himself rushed and took the Hokage and jumped to the roof. At that time, there was a violent rumble and a large three headed snake appeared outside Konoha walls, but it soon crashed into the village and started to destroy the place. That wouldn't be too bad except there was another rumble and a very large spider appeared and started to destroy the place as well. The Raikage stared at the spider.

"That's the summon boss for the Spider Contract in Stone. What's it doing here?"

* * *

_Back in the stands_

All the civilians were fast asleep because of the genjutsu placed on them but the ninja's that were able to recognize the genjutsu in time was able to dispel it and fight off the sudden appearance of the Sound ninja. Fortunately, Konoha was warned of the invasion and was able to prepare itself. Holes suddenly appeared under the civilians and they dropped into safety. Gaara has already started his part in the defense of Konoha. He is walking the streets killing as many Sound shinobi as he can get his hands/sand on and barely sparing the Sand nins. Yugito is doing the same as well, although she wasn't sparing Sand nor Sound. Tira was having the time of her life. So many people to kill and not enough time. Hidan, Kisame, Hidan, and Zabuza were out killing as well.

"Naruto." Kakashi tried to get his attention as he was slaying anybody he could get his hands on. Sakura was doing the same. After he finished with his batch, he acknowledged Kakashi.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you and Sakura can take care of those two summons?"

"Yes!" Both Naruto and Sakura responded.

"ALRIGHTY THEN!" A sound nin flew by them and landed on the wall with a cracking sound. A green blur shot by them. It was Gai. "I'LL GIVE YOU THE WAY OUT AND YOU TAKE CARE OF THOSE BEASTS WITH YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Gai rushed toward the trying-to-recover-himself Sound nin and punched him…hard, so hard that the wall behind him crumbled. Both Naruto and Sakura was amazed at the power this guy had. They recovered themselves and rushed out of the stadium. While they rushed to the summons locations, they didn't stop killing the enemy. Naruto had a higher kill count then Sakura by 2. Soon they finally reached the area where they were and did the appropriate hand seals and soon Manda and Gamabunta stood in all their glory.

"_**Why did you bring us out?"**_ Gamabunta demanded.

"The Sand and Sound are invading and we need you two to take care of them!" Sakura motioned to the animals currently staring at them.

"_**I got it. I got dibs on the spider." **_Gamabunta declared, drawing his sword.

"_**I got the snake."**_ Manda stated and the both of them charged for the attack.

* * *

_Back to the Hokage/Orochimaru fight_

"Orochimaru…what have you done?"

Orochimaru, being disguised as the Kazekage all along, blocked the _**Kage Shuriken **_attack by raising two coffins to block them.

"I have done the impossible sensei. I have found a way to bring the dead back to life." Orochimaru made a hand sign and a third coffin rose up. The Sandaime reacted.

"_If the people in those coffins are who I think they are, then I have to stop that third one."_ The Hokage drew shuriken from his pouch and was about to throw them but a sudden pain shot through his arm, causing him to drop them. He watched in horror as the third coffin rose and all at once, the lids of all three of them detached and fell to the ground. Three figures walked out of the coffins and into the light. All the onlookers gasped at the sight.

All three dead Hokage's stood in all their pale glory.

* * *

_Back to Naruto_

"_**SOULS!" **_Soul Edge suddenly shouted, surprising Naruto and causing him to fall off of Manda. Sakura leapt down from Gamabunta to see what the problem was.

"_What's the problem? You scared the hell out of me."_ What he said next caused Naruto to shout both mentally and physically.

"_**Souls have been revived by Orochimaru."**_

"_WHAT?"_ Feeling a prod on the outside, Naruto saw Sakura looking at him worried. Naruto said to her what he just heard, causing her to have the same reaction as Naruto. _"Who is Orochimaru fighting against?"_

"_**Your Hokage."**_ That worried Naruto. Naruto knew he was old and if the souls revived by Orochimaru were powerful enough, then he might…

Naruto shook his head getting rid of that train of thought. He wouldn't allow him to die, not if he had anything to say about it.

"_Listen, I want you to go to him and protect him."_

"**Kit, are you sure about this? You're giving him free reign."** Kyuubi warned Naruto. He didn't have to answer as he could feel Naruto's mind made up.

"_I'm sure."_

On the outside, Sakura watch while Naruto talked within himself. She wasn't sure how the talk was going. Soul Calibur wasn't giving her any answers. She jumped when a cloud of darkness sprang forth in front of Naruto and Nightmare stood in all his glory. Naruto stood up and, to her utter surprise, gave Soul Edge to Nightmare and said two sentences.

"I'm counting on you to protect him. I don't want him to die." She was even more surprised when Nightmare replied.

"_**As you wish."**_ Nightmare turned and started to run back toward the stadium. After Nightmare vanished, Naruto turned and faced Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, what's going on?"

* * *

_Rooftops_

Tsunade watched with horror as her revived grandfather, the 2nd Hokage, and the 4th Hokage beat the living daylights out of Sarutobi. She could do nothing because of the purple barrier that prevents them from helping. Not even the Raikage could do anything. They were helpless.

_**CRASH!**_

Heads swerved around at the sound. The sight that met their eyes caused many to hold their breath. Nightmare stood up from his landing and shook his legs a bit. He walked up to where Tsunade and the others were.

"N-naruto, what are you doing here?" Nightmare turned his head to look at Tsunade with his cursed eyes.

"_**Wrong soul."**_ Every single face turned deathly white at his statement. Tsunade couldn't speak or move in fear that if she makes a wrong move, he would strike her down.

"N-N-Nightmare, w-what are y-you d-doing here?" Tsunade managed to get out. Nightmare didn't speak at first, instead he analyzed the situation.

"_**The child gave me free reign when he found out his precious person was in danger. He actually took the risk of me going on a rampage and not helping him."**_

"T-then what are y-you doing here?"

"_**Hmm, what does it look like?"**_ Nightmare started to walk around the barrier. _**"Now...which soul is the tastiest?**_ He started looking at each ninja at each corner. He passed one before reaching a red haired female. She stared at him and he stared back.

"What are you looking at fucker?" He didn't answer back except to bring his face closer to get a good look. He wasn't looking at her but inside her, courtesy of the _**Akumu no Me.**_ Naruto only unlocked the first part of the new bloodline. The second level allows him to look into a soul and see his/her life and what makes the person...who they are.

"_**I like you."**_ That statement caught her off guard. Nightmare turned to the shinobi following him. _**"Whatever happens, keep her alive. I want to have a one on one talk with her." **_Nightmare continued his walk until he got to a man with 6 arms. _**"You...you smell delicious."**_ He didn't even have a chance to blink before he was stabbed by Soul Edge. You might be wondering if Soul Edge can pass through the barrier, why not Nightmare? The answer is that Soul Edge was born from fire and hate and it is able to pass through anything made of fire, but Nightmare can't. The stabbed man choked up blood before falling off the blade, lifeless. The barrier flickered for a moment before falling down but only the part where he was supporting his half of the barrier, and Nightmare stepped through. The barrier flickered back to life as the other three increased their chakra output to compensate for the loss.

The Sannin and the four Kages watched as Nightmare enter the battle.

"What do you think you are doing here?" Orochimaru demanded.

"_**I'm here to kill you."**_ Nightmare lunged at Orochimaru. The three kages moved to defend him and Nightmare grabbed the fist of the 1st Hokage and sent him flying into the wall. The second Hokage unleashed a wave of water headed for Nightmare. Nightmare activated his Soul Charge to the highest level and produced an upper slash when the water reached him and the water turned to steam. Nightmare rushed straight toward the Nidiame while Soul Edge was across his back with him still holding on to it. Nightmare reached a confused Nidiame and slammed Soul Edge, but he jumped away in time for a column of fire to erupt. Sensing a familiar aura behind him, he whipped around and grabbed the Yondiame by the neck with his right arm and tightened his grip. Something was weird and familiar about this guy. He took a closer look with his eyes and after a moment, his eyes widened. _**"You…you are the boy's father."**_ Said man eyes widened before getting slammed into the ground and his hand released him. He didn't get a chance to move before very thick roots erupted from Soul Edge and bound him and kept him of the floor. _**"I'll deal with you later."**_

Nightmare ducked in time to avoid the swing of Orochimaru's blade and countered with a swing of his own that sent his back a distance. Nightmare charged Orochimaru and they exchanged blows, while Sarutobi dealt with the other two kages. This continued for a while and quite frankly, Orochimaru had enough. He was relieved that Sephiroth wasn't here but this guy is just as powerful as him. Jumping back to land on the opposite side of the fighting ground. Orochimaru made a few hand seals and the entire area was cloaked in darkness. Nightmare growled.

"_**This will only serve to anger me."**_ Nightmare was about to charge but Sarutobi stopped him.

"We can't defeat them."

"_**Then what would you suggest old man?"**_

"If you can hold them off until I complete the contract, I will end this fight." Nightmare stared at the old man in disbelief.

"_**You're serious aren't you?"**_ Seeing the nod, he sighed. _**"Very well, I'll hold them off but leave the 4**__**th**__** to me. I need to have a little talk to him."**_ He nodded and Nightmare jumped in front of Sarutobi and defended him. Sarutobi made two clones, but Nightmare, sensing his intent, quickly dispatched them. _**"Leave them to me, just focus on Orochimaru."**_ He nodded and started the long string of seals needed for the summoning. Nightmare blocked each strike made by the revived Hokage's, waiting for the right time.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he finally finished the string and behind him the Shinigami appeared. He looked behind him to confirm.

"_I did it. Now I just have to get a hold of him."_

Sarutobi nodded to Nightmare who nodded back. Nightmare stabbed the ground and he sent a wave of purple energy out and that dissolved the illusion. Orochimaru was stunned but it quickly went away as Nightmare sent him flying, but he didn't stop there as he ran up to him and grappled him in a death grip. Sarutobi quickly closed the distance and started the sealing. Orochimaru noticed that something was wrong as he could feel it.

"What are you doing, you old fool?" Sarutobi grunted as he could start to feel the effects.

"I made a mistake not killing you when I had the chance. I will make it up right now." The Shinigami had put his hand inside Orochimaru's stomach and started to pull it out. So far, hands were showing.

"Y-you bastard. I am the great Orochimaru! None of you can kill me!"

"_**Shut up!"**_ Nightmare bellowed and he tightened his grip. _**"You have a lot of crimes to pay for."**_

Part of the arm was showing.

"What are you?"

"_**Hehe, I am your greatest nightmare."**_ Sarutobi started to breathe heavily. Nightmare noted purple gunk dripping from a wound. _Poison._ Seeing Sarutobi's state, he figured that he only had a few minutes. _**"Old man, you are about to die. Seal what you can before it's too late." **_He nodded. Nightmare noticed that the Shinigami had the arms and legs out.

"SEAL!" The Shinigami cut off the parts that he had out and it got sealed into Sarutobi. Orochimaru screamed bloody murder at the feeling of his soul legs and arms getting cut off. Nightmare released him and was about to finish the job when a two headed Sound nin grabbed him and left with his tubby partner. Nightmare turned around to see the Shinigami grabbing the Yondiame. Nightmare narrowed his eyes.

They were about to disappear when the Shinigami felt a tug. He turned around to see Nightmare holding on to the Yondiame's soul.

"_What are you doing? This is my soul."_

"_**This soul is mine. You had him but you lost him."**_ It was then that they started to play a game of tug-of-war.

On the outside, all the observers watched with amazement as Nightmare was pulling and the Shinigami was pulling, trying to get the soul.

"_IT'S MINE!"_

"_**MINE!"**_

"_HE SCARFICED HIMSELF TO ME!"_

"_**YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT A BETTER GRIP ON HIM AND NOW HE'S MINE!"**_

They kept on pulling on him and he was starting to feel the strain on his body, until…

_RIP_

Everybody blinked as the Yondiame was torn in half. Each creature holding a equal part of him. The Shinigami and Nightmare both blinked too.

"Ow..." Said the Yondiame.

The Death God sighed.

"_Fine, what do you want?"_

"_**I want this soul returned to the land of the living and I want his wife and the soul you just took freed as well. What about you?"**_

"_I want 75 souls. 25 each. It may take me a while to retrieve the wife because she is in Soul Society. In order to return the male, I need both halves."_

"_**Give me something as collateral for their souls."**_

"_What makes you think I'll give you anything?"_

"_**You want my souls? Then give me something!"**_ He thought for a moment then sighed. He gave Nightmare his knife, beads, and cloak and Nightmare handed over his half of the body. The Shinigami disappeared and Nightmare tucked the items away. He started walking toward Tsunade with Soul Edge on his shoulder. When he got closer, she asked him something.

"Why are you doing this?" Nightmare stopped after he passed Tsunade.

"_**To be honest, I have no clue. Maybe it's because my mind was bugging me ever since I saw his life or it's because I'm getting soft, or maybe both. I need to figure it out. Where's the girl?**_

"She's been taken to ANBU holding cell 12."

"_**Good."**_

"What happens now?"

"_**Now...I need to collect more souls for payment."**_ Nightmare jumped off the roof down into the chaos below.

* * *

_Later_

A foul mouth red haired female sat on the ground waiting for her execution. As soon as the barrier dropped, they jumped her and she was unable to escape. She was thrown in this cell with nay a word and it was most likely that she would be executed after they interrogated her for every piece of information she had. However, what that beast said to her put doubt in her mind that she was going to be executed, instead she thought she was going to be given a fate far worse then death. A door slammed and her head snapped up...only to scoot all the way over to the other side of the room as much as possible.

In the doorway...stood the beast that took an interest in her.

"_**Now, I believe that we are due for a talk."**_

* * *

_Nighttime_

Naruto plopped down onto the bed next to Sakura. They had a long and hard day. Nightmare disappeared for a while and Naruto and Sakura couldn't find him but was told by Tsunade he was still in the village doing business, but she wouldn't tell them exactly where he was, but she did tell them what happened during the fight. Naruto didn't know what to feel as he heard what Nightmare did. Naruto almost broke down when he heard the Hokage died but quickly assured him that Nightmare made some kind of deal with the Shinigami to bring him back to life. Naruto almost fainted with relief. After a while, Naruto and Sakura headed home. It wasn't until half an hour later of going home that Nightmare came through the door holding a passed out Sound nin, dumped her on the chair, and passed out on the couch and started to snore. They weren't sure what to make of the blood on Soul Edge or the red hair girl snoring on their chair. They went to bed, figuring that they wouldn't get answers until tomorrow.

* * *

_The next day_

Poke.

Poke, poke.

_Zzzz..._

Poke, poke, poke.

_mumbles and turns over_

"_**GET UP YOU FUCKING BRAT!"**_

Naruto yelped and fell down onto the floor while he was attached to Sakura, taking her down with him. There were some curses before there heads popped out from the other side of the bed.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?" Naruto shouted to Nightmare who, Naruto could practically feel, was wearing a smug look.

"_**There's someone I would like you to meet."**_ Nightmare stepped aside to reveal two new people. _**"Naruto, meet your mother and father."**_

A moment of silence...before the sound of Naruto hitting the floor, unconscious from shock made itself heard.

"Ehh, Naruto? Are you alright?" Sakura started to shake him in hopes to wake him up.

"You think he's surprised to see us?" The father asked.

_**SMACK!**_

Nightmare smacked Minato upside the head.

"_**Idiot."**_

* * *

_The next day_

Naruto passed out a total of 10 times. Every time he woke up and saw his parents' faces, he passed out again. They tried having them out of his sight a couple of time, but Naruto would just remember what he saw the last time and pass out again. Finally, Hidan had enough. He grabbed Naruto, despite Sakura's protests, took him to a stream and dunked him in it. That did it as Naruto came to the surface coughing and sputtering. Hidan didn't waste anytime as he jumped down, grabbed Naruto, and jumped away toward the house where they were waiting. Hidan kicked opened the door and brought Naruto face to face with his parents.

"Child...parents."

"Parents...child. Get to know each other."

Hidan dumped Naruto in front of them and dragged Sakura and her mother out of the room and out of the house. They stared at each other not sure what to say until he cleared his throat and introduced himself as Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Namikaze, formally known as Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto's jaw dropped and it remain that way until something clicked in his mind.

The 4th Hokage died sealing the Kyuubi into a newborn and if the 4th is his father, then...

Naruto's mouth closed and his anger rose. His own father sealed the Kyuubi in him and it was because of him that he was hated. Naruto grabbed Soul Edge that was near and took a page out of Hidan's book.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD!" He stood up and swung.

* * *

_Outside_

When Hidan got out of the house, he plopped Sakura and her mother down on a bench and sat in between them, keeping them there. It was then he started to count down from 20. When he got to 0, the side of the house exploded and Minato and Kushina flew out with a pissed off Naruto following. Sakura tried to get up but Hidan kept her down saying that he had some issues to work out with them. Minato and Kushina kept on dodging Naruto's strikes.

_An hour later_

Hidan was impressed. While attempting to destroy his parents, he started to curse. At first it was just normal curses but then he started to go in more detail, then he started to curse them so much that Hidan took out a pen and notebook and started to write them down and the while muttering that this kid was a genius. After a few minutes of heavy cursing, he started to intensify his destruction and it became so much that Hidan had to grab the two and jump away before a boulder came crashing down. They landed just in time to see a massive mushroom cloud appear. He had major issues.

_30 minutes later_

The destruction was starting to calm down some. There wasn't anymore boulders flying around, that's for sure. Finally, Naruto slowed down and he eventually stopped. Minato and Kushina appeared next to him and held him close to him, comforting him while he cried and let out his sadness of not having a family, of being alone after all those years. Sakura couldn't stand seeing Naruto's sad face and she tried to go to him but was held back by Hidan again. She glared at him, but understood what he was saying.

"Ugh, who the fuck is making all that racket? I'm trying to get some fucking sleep here!" The girl Nightmare brought home stepped out of the front door, while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. After she finally got them open, she noticed the destruction that took place. "Damn, what the fuck happened to this place?" She turned her head and finally noticed the other people that were there. "Who the fuck are you?"

"My name is Sakura."

"Hidan."

"Katsumi. The house you came out of is mine."

"Oh...where's Nightmare?"

"Back where he came from, I guess. Who are you?"

"The name is Tayuya. Where's Naruto?" She asked looking around for him. Unknown to her, he was just around the corner.

"What's it to you?" She turned back to her and smirked. She pulled down the front of her shirt to see the kanji for 'servant' above her heart.

"I am Naruto's new servant. Tira got one of these as well." Sakura's eye twitched. What's with all these female servants for _her_ Naruto?

"Why did Nightmare make you become his servant?" Sakura tried not to let the anger appear in her voice, but she heard it. The smirk became a full blown grin.

"Oh I don't know...maybe he wants Naruto to have a harem of his own?" Sakura screamed a battle cry and lunged at her but was held back by Hidan, but that didn't stop her from trying to escape from Hidan's clutches and rip her a new one. Sakura kicked Hidan's holy place and he doubled over in pain and he let go of Sakura who rushed toward the still laughing Tayuya. When she was halfway to her, she was stopped by a blond blur. She kept on yelling until she realized somebody was holding her. She barely recognizes blond hair.

"N-naruto?"

"Sakura-chan, why are you trying to attack her?"

"But...she...girl...slut..." Sakura started to mumble.

"Sakura-chan, Soul Edge told me about Tayuya already so I know she's my servant. Why are you acting this way?" Sakura didn't answer but Hidan did.

"I think she thinks that you won't remain faithful to her." Naruto turned back to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, is that true?" Sakura bowed her head in shame. Naruto brought her head up with his hand. "Sakura-chan, you should know by now that I will always be faithful to you."

"But she's prettier then me and she doesn't have a wide forehead." Sakura wined. Naruto chuckled. "Sakura-chan, you are the prettiest girl in the world to me and your forehead is so charming that it makes me want to kiss it." Naruto kissed her forehead and she giggled.

"Naruto-kun, thank you so much." They hugged each other and they stayed that way for a while until Tayuya interrupted.

"Alright, stop with the lovey dovey. It's making me sick."

* * *

End of the chapter.

I have been waiting to write this chapter ever since I started this fic. Tell me how I did on this chapter, especially the rooftop fight.

Poll Time:

_Do you want Bleach characters to make a brief appearance?_

As always, R&R.

_**Gnosismaster**_


	12. The Dark Dragon Blade

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 10**_

* * *

_**AN: Sorry, no bleach. The no's won by one point.**_

* * *

_A week later_

Things were not going well.

The day after Minato and Kushina came back; Sarutobi announced his intention to resign as Hokage and gave the title to Tsunade, who accepted. Her first announcement was the revival of the Yondiame Hokage and his wife. Everybody cheered...until she told them exactly how they came back and who brought them back. The ninja were pleased that they had their former Hokage back and was ecstatic to find out that Naruto, the boy they shunned, was their son. The civilians, on the other hand, weren't so happy. They were at first but when Tsunade told them who revived them, their happiness went south. They started to think (and voice their opinions as well) that they were under the influence of the demon and that they were unholy. The ninja's were appalled that they thought that but then they realized that they were the same.

This continued for some time before Tsunade finally had enough and ordered everybody home to cool off, but that wasn't the main problem for the Haruno household, or rather the _lack _of a household. What Naruto destroyed was only the side of the house and the rest of the house was fine…until this morning when half of the civilian population destroyed the rest of the house. Katsumi almost fainted when she saw the state of her house, but was remedied by Minato saying that they could stay in their house. After salvaging what they could, Minato led them to a secluded place deep within the forest and Naruto, Sakura, Katsumi, Tira, Zabuza, Kisame, and Hidan (Minato didn't have a problem with them moving in) looked on with wonder at their new mansion. It was a three story mansion with a lot of land surrounded it. Minato put his hand on the gate surrounding it and pushed his chakra in it and the gate opened. Everybody went inside and the first thing they noticed was a giant bowl of ramen with noodles and water being poured in it and it was made entirely of stone, right in front of them. Naruto stared, before cheering out loud and ran toward the monument to the food of the Gods. The rest of the ninja's, plus two (Tira and Katsumi) stared at it.

Apparently, Naruto wasn't the only one that worshipped ramen.

After everybody looked at it, Minato gave them a tour of the house. Sakura had to drag Naruto away from the ramen while he was praying to it. The Namikaze mansion had about 40 rooms, 15 bedrooms, 3 indoor swimming pools and hot tubs, a huge training ground in the back, and much more. Naruto and Sakura took a large room, with a medium bed, for themselves and left before Kushina could figure out that Sakura was sleeping with her boy. When she did figure it out, she nearly tore apart the house looking for Sakura. Hidan took two rooms for himself. One for sleeping and another he named…

_**Prayer Room**_

_**Enter and I'll kill you, seriously.**_

Kisame took a large room that coincidently, was right next to a swimming pool. Kisame knocked down the wall and took the other room for himself and made some adjustments to the pool.

Tira took a room right next to her master, but was forced to move by Naruto and she moved to the end of the hall, right next to Zabuza's room.

Katsumi took a room for herself and spent the day in the hot tub.

They spent the whole day moving in and getting used to their new home. The next day, a messenger came by and let them know that the Hokage wanted to see Team 7 so Sakura and Naruto got ready and was soon standing in front of Tsunade.

"As you know, things are a little hectic right now." Everybody nodded, except for Sasuke, who looked pissed off because of the fact that Naruto is the son of the Hokage. "So here's what's going to happen. Things need some time to calm down so I'm going to send you out on a mission that will take a while to finish so things can cool down."

"What kind of mission is it, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked. Tsunade smirked.

"A treasure hunt." She was met with dumbfounded looks.

"Baachan." Tsunade twitched at her new nickname. Naruto started calling her that when he found out how old she was. Her only relief was that Naruto was calling Jiraiya Ero-sennin. She enjoys the annoyed look that Jiraiya has every time he calls him that.

"Yes Naruto?" Tsunade asked while Naruto rubbed the bump on his head delivered by Sakura.

"Why are you sending us on a treasure hunt when we can something better with our skills?"

"Because the client has proven to me that the treasure is real and he knows where it is but he needs help."

"Who is the client?" Tsunade smirked again.

"I believe you know him already." She turned toward the door. "You can come in now." The door opened and a familiar warrior stepped through.

"YOU?" Naruto exclaimed when he recognized him. The familiar warrior posed and shouted.

"It is I, Yoshimitsu!"

A tear shaped mass of water appeared behind everybody's heads as they remembered his dramatic way of talking. Naruto spoke up.

"What kind of treasure are you after?" His face lit up.

"The ultimate treasure that was gathered by the Merchant of Death, Vercci."

"She said that you knew where it is, so why ask for our help?"

"Because of the Hell Guardian."

"The Hell Guardian?" He nodded.

"I faced him before but now he has grown more powerful recently and I can't defeat him. I have heard of your reputation of being the Nightmare of Konoha."

"Wait...I have a nickname _and _a reputation?" He exclaimed, honestly surprised.

"Yeah, you didn't know that?"

"No, I didn't." Naruto couldn't believe that he was getting famous already. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of the look on his face. It looked like he was happy. Whether or not, it was the kind of attention he wanted. The term 'Nightmare' means that something is terrifying right? Sakura got a good look at him and shook her head. No, Naruto could never be terrifying, Nightmare and Soul Edge on the other hand…

"ALRIGHT, WE WILL DEFEAT THIS EVIL!" A shout from Yoshimitsu interrupted her thoughts and saw Naruto and Yoshimitsu in similar poses. Sakura sweat dropped at the silliness of the two.

"Great, now you will leave in an hour. Prepare yourselves and you will be gone for at least a month, maybe longer." Everybody nodded and left the room except Yoshimitsu. After they were gone, he turned back to Tsunade.

"Are you sure that Naruto can defeat him? Tsunade asked.

"I am sure. The last time I fought against the Hell Guardian, I felt the Dark Dragon Blade's energy coursing through him. I barely escaped with my life."

"I hope you're right, for all our sakes."

* * *

_A few days later_

Naruto sighed as he looked out into the ocean. He had a bad feeling ever since they started this mission.

"Hey, why so gloomy?" Sakura asked as she walked up to him. Naruto sighed again as he looked at Sakura. She looked even more angelic as she stood behind the sunset.

"I don't know. There's something about this mission that's bothering me."

"It's probably just nerves from what's happening back home. You worried about your father?" Naruto chuckled.

"You know, I still haven't got used to calling him my father."

"Why?"

"How would you feel if you found out your father sealed the most hated demon in you and you didn't even know that it was your father?" Sakura nodded in understanding. She would probably feel the same way. Sakura took his hand in hers.

"From what I seen, he wouldn't do it if there wasn't any other option. He looks like a man that loves his son no matter what and it must have broken him inside to do what he did."

"I know, but I still can't get used to it."

"Don't worry. I bet that you will soon. Now come on, it's getting late and I want to cuddle in bed." That did it as Naruto perked up and dragged Sakura to their bedroom. Sakura laughed. If there was one thing he loved, it was holding Sakura in his arms, savoring her.

In the bedroom, Naruto held Sakura in his arms while snoring. Sakura lied awake while running her free hand all over his body. His body has recovered from the malnutrition and all of the scars have gone away. His body is now what it should be for a 12-year old. She laid awake thinking about the events that led up to this. It was all because of Soul Edge that Sakura loves Naruto. If it wasn't for Soul Edge, Sakura would have never gone on that date with Naruto and she wouldn't have known about his life. While they were together, they had their share of good times and bad times. For example, ever since that time Sakura gave Naruto a blowjob, Naruto liked it so much that Sakura started giving him one every week. At first she didn't like the taste of his seed but eventually she'd grown to love it and desire it. However, things almost went haywire. During one of their 'sessions', as Sakura liked to call them, they were discovered by Naruto's parents. Sakura have never seen anybody that mad before. She had to utilize every aspect of her skills (and some of Soul Calibur's as well) to avoid their wrath. It took 2 days for them to calm down.

Sakura has never been so scared in her entire life.

Even after Minato and Kushina calmed down, Sakura still wouldn't come out. Naruto and her mother tried and, with the insistence that Naruto's parents stay far, far, away, she finally came out. Naruto even turned into Nightmare to assure her that they wouldn't try anything. Katsumi explained the situation to his parents and after some thought, understood and apologized for their actions, but she was still scared of them and it took a while for her to get used to them again. Sakura sighed. Perhaps things will be better when they get back. Snuggling closer to Naruto, she eventually fell asleep.

* * *

_The next day_

Team 7 and Yoshimitsu watched on as an island came into view. Yoshimitsu had explained to them what they would expect like traps, thieves, more traps, and finally the Hell Guardian himself, Voldo. He described his fighting style, insane and not physically possible, and that was the reason why he was called the 'Hell Guardian'. Yoshimitsu and the others got into a rowboat and paddled the rest of the way. The island got bigger as they drew closer. Soon, they were inside the island and prepared themselves for what's to come.

* * *

_Inside the island_

The boat reached shore and everybody got out. They started walking slowly, fully alert. It wasn't long until they reached the first trap. Sasuke was the one who set it off. The hallway suddenly rumbled before spikes started to pop up from where they entered and to the exit. They ran like hell, just narrowly missed the last of the spikes. Sakura pounded the Uchiha for being so careless. The next set of traps was set off by Naruto this time. The exits sealed shut and gas started to seep into the room. They bolted toward the nearest door to find it shut. Kakashi didn't waste anytime in making hand signs and soon the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the air and the door was blasted away and they ran out before the gas filled the room. This continued for a while with each person activating traps. A few times, they ran into bandits and they dispatched them. As they progressed, they could feel somebody watching them. Finally they reached a door that was locked. Jiraiya destroyed the door and everybody stood wide-eyed at the sight that met their eyes.

There were bridges and water all over, but that wasn't the surprise, what was in the water caught their attention. There was gold, silver, and treasures of all kinds in the water.

"Wow." Was the one word that everybody said at the exact same time. They entered the room but they weren't 5 feet into it when they suddenly jumped away from where they were, just in time to evade a figure jumping down right where they were a second ago. The dust cleared and a strange warrior stood up. He had purple armor on and straps everywhere and he had weird weapons in his hands but the freakiest thing about him was his face. His eyes and mouth was covered by straps and only his ears and nose was unobstructed. Sasuke took a step back and the warrior lunged toward Sasuke. Sasuke reacted fast, leaping away…only for the attacker to follow. Yoshimitsu appeared in front of Voldo and knocked him back.

"Voldo, your fight is with me." Voldo stared at Yoshimitsu and hissed at him, then something happened. Voldo was enveloped in a black and purple aura and suddenly 5 more Voldo's began to separate from the original Voldo until there were 5 separate Voldo's. Yoshimitsu bent down to Naruto's level.

"Remember when I said that Voldo was stronger for some reason?"

"Yeah?"

"That's why."

"What is that aura?"

"**The Dark Dragon Blade."** Everybody's head swiveled at the new voice. On top of the statue of Vercci was a lone figure wearing black and purple armor and had blonde hair and was carrier a strangely shaped sword. The knight jumped and landed in front of the Voldo's. They noticed that the voice wasn't human.

"Who are you?"

"**I already told you my name. My hosts' name is Siegfried."**

"What do you want**?" **Siegfried begun to laugh and raised his sword to point toward Naruto.

"**I want your sword boy. I want to absorb the evil it contains." **Naruto tensed.

"How do you know about Soul Edge?" Siegfried laughed.

"**My dear boy, I known about it every since it was released. I just waited for it to grow more powerful so the power I get would be much tastier." **He turned his head a bit toward the Voldo's. **"Keep the rest busy. I don't want any interruptions."** All the Voldo's hissed in acknowledgment and each Voldo lunged toward each member of Team 7 save for Naruto. Siegfried and Naruto stared at each other with Siegfried looking at his eyes. **"Those eyes..."** Naruto raised an eyebrow. **"Those eyes remind me of Ryu when I killed his wife in front of him. The hatred he felt for me was glorious." **Naruto growled before transforming to Nightmare. That brought a smile to his face. **"I was hoping that I would fight him." **He settled into a stance.

"**I'll burn you alive!"** Siegfried smirked at Nightmare's declaration and watched as Nightmare charged Siegfried.

The clash of the titans has begun.

* * *

_Sakura's POV_

Sakura grunted as she parried yet another blow from Voldo. Normally, she wouldn't have a problem but this opponent is insane. His fighting style is inhuman. She was barely able to keep up with his crazy movements. What was even crazier was that the guy was _moon walking _while standing in one spot. She risked a glance toward her teammates. It looks like they were having trouble as well. The Voldo that Yoshimitsu was fighting suddenly grabbed him, then started to crawl all over him and settled on his back, poised to strike, but just as he was just about to make contact, Yoshimitsu brought his sword up and shouted _SENPUKO_ and promptly stabbed himself and Voldo and the both of them fell to the ground and to her complete amazement, Yoshimitsu stood right back up unharmed and got right back to fighting, but her attention was brought back to her attacker. A violent rumble stopped everybody in their tracks. Heads swiveled around to see Nightmare and Siegfried going head to head with each other. The sheer force of their fight was causing cracks in the floor. Each fighter had cuts in their armor and both were looking exhausted. Sakura noticed several cracks in each sword, which surprised her.

"**It seems that we have reached our limits."** Siegfried declared. Nightmare didn't answer but he knew that he was reaching his limits as well. **"Shall we finish this with one last strike?" **Each fighter started to build up power and soon the air was thick with power radiating from the two swordsmen. Everybody, even the Voldo's disappeared, stood well enough away from the dueling titans. They were amazed at the sheer power they were putting out. They just stood there staring at each other, until the both of them charged at each other and...passed each other. The onlookers stared, not knowing what just happened. A few seconds passed before blood spurted out of Siegfried's mouth and he fell down, dead. Nightmare stood up fully and turned around and walked toward the Dark Dragon Blade.

"**Your power is mine."** Nightmare then brought up Soul Edge and slammed it down, stabbing the sword and twisted it until the whole thing shattered and the pieces turned into vapor. To everyone's surprise, the entire room was filled with purple-ish vapor, and then Nightmare brought his sword above his head. **"Souls...come onto me!"** Soul Edge started to glow red and all the vapors was getting sucked into the sword. Everybody watched as Soul Edge absorbed all the gas. When he finished, you could tell he was pleased. **"Ah, that was tasty."** Nightmare then turned back into Naruto and walked up to Siegfried. He grabbed him and turned him over so that he was on his stomach. Now that he was on his stomach, everybody could see that he was still alive. "You alright?"

"Yes, thank you for freeing me. I have been a slave to that sword for a long time, always watching, but not able to do anything."

"No problem."

"May I ask the name of my savior?" Naruto grinned.

"Namikaze Naruto, at your service." Siegfried smile and sighed.

"I think I'm going to sleep now." Siegfried closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Sakura watched as Siegfried fell asleep and Naruto patted his shoulder and stand up and started to walk toward them. Sakura waved at him and he waved back...until he doubled over, screaming in pain. Sakura gasped and immediately ran to him and dropped to her knees in front of him. Kakashi and the others came right behind her. "Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" She hurriedly asked. Her only answer was more screaming. She turned to face Kakashi looking at Naruto with his Sharingan.

"His chakra is..." Kakashi trailed off, not knowing how to put it. She turned toward Jiraiya who was just as puzzled.

"Is it Kyuubi?" Jiraiya shook his head.

"If it was, we would know it. I haven't seen anything like this in my lifetime." Sakura could do nothing except hold Naruto and hope the pain goes away soon. She hated not knowing what was going on but her answer came from an unexpected source.

"The battle is not over yet." Heads swiveled to see Siegfried next to them. Naruto's screaming woke him up.

"What do you mean?"

"Soul Edge absorbed the energy of the Dark Dragon Blade but he won't go down without a fight and that is what happening right now. Soul Edge is trying to absorb him fully and the Dragon Blade is trying not to be absorbed."

"What can we do?" Sakura asked with tears in her eyes. Siegfried shook his head.

"There is nothing you can do. It is all up to him. The most you can do is keep him asleep so he won't feel anything and maybe, and I emphasize _maybe_, give him a little support by keeping him asleep so he can focus on the task at hand." Jiraiya nodded and made hand seals and touch Naruto's forehead with two fingers and Naruto fell silent as he fell asleep.

"Come on, we should get him back to Konoha." Kakashi suggested as he tried to gather Naruto in his arms but Sakura wouldn't let him go. "Give him to me Sakura." Sakura shook her head vigorously, not wanting to release him fearing that he will die if she lets go. She brought Naruto closer to her and glared at her sensei's, silently daring them to take her Naruto away from her.

Nobody noticed Yoshimitsu tiptoe around the group, silently giggling to himself.

There was an audible _thump_ as Yoshimitsu's hand made contact with Sakura's neck, knocking her out. She slumped forward, resting her head on Naruto's chest.

"Thank you."

"Yes, thank you for clearing the way for us." Heads turned around to see more bandits. Kakashi groaned. He did not need this. Yoshimitsu stepped forward saying that he would take care of it. He walked until he was in front of them.

"So, you will be the first to die." He cackled.

"I shall assist your suicide." He charged and there were many clangs, grunts, yells, and screams of pain from kicks to the groin and Yoshimitsu emerged victorious. After cleaning up the mess, the group talked about what to do. Kakashi suggested that they head back to Konoha and Jiraiya agreed with him until Sasuke reminded them of the treasure. They had forgotten about that. Yoshimitsu said that they can keep as much treasure they can carry. Jiraiya grinned. Tsunade's debts will soon be paid. Maybe he could get into her good graces if he paid her debts for her and among other...things. Jiraiya began to giggle as his mind began to wander.

* * *

_Daydream_

"_Oh Jiraiya, you got me out of those horrible debts and you brought me a lot of money to gamble. I love you and I want to carry your babies."_ _Tsunade took his hands and put them on her breasts. "You like these don't you?" Jiraiya began to giggle loud. Tsunade brought her face closer to Jiraiya's and puckered up to kiss. She drew closer...and closer and..._

* * *

_**SMACK**_

A smack from Kakashi brought him back to the real world. Shaking his head, he focused on the situation on hand. Grabbing the scroll behind his back, he explained exactly what it was. It was a storage seal of his own invention that can store massive amounts of objects. He can store even more from the scrolls he unsealed from the big one and he started to seal treasure into the scrolls and soon the scroll was filled to the brim with treasure. This will be enough to pay off Tsunade's debts, Konoha's debts, and much, much more. Jiraiya gathered up Naruto and Sakura...at the same time. Sakura still wouldn't let go even when she was unconscious. He brought them to one of the ships waiting for them. Yoshimitsu brought an extra one so he can spend all the time he wants here.

Jiraiya gently laid Naruto and Sakura on the bed. Naruto had a look of anguish on his face and Sakura was...crying? Jiraiya lowered his head. She was indeed crying. Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. If only he had that kind of love with Tsunade. Jiraiya closed the door and went up on the deck. They were already on their way back to Konoha. After about a week on the seas, it will take them a week and a half to get back to the village. The trip would take longer because of Naruto's condition.

**_End of chapter_**

* * *

_Mini-scene_

_**Red vs. Blue**_

_Debriefing_

"Ok, here's your mission. Naruto, Kiba, Ino, and Lee will be Blue team and Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji will be Red team. Naruto is the captain of Blue team and Chouji is captain of Red team. Your objective is to capture the flag. The location is in a canyon in the mountains. The time span will be a month."

* * *

_A month later_

"Where did the Reds go?" Naruto asked. Kiba has discovered that the Reds abandoned their base and Naruto, Kiba, and Ino left the Red base, leaving Lee to guard the flag.

"Maybe they just left and forfeited." Kiba suggested.

"All their stuff is here, so that rules it out. I have a bad feeling about this."

"What kind of feeling?" Naruto asked.

"I think we walked right into a..."

"A trap." A new voice made itself heard.

"Sasuke." Everybody turned around too see Sasuke with his smug look. Sasuke tied them up.

* * *

_In the newly discovered caves_

"The Blues have captured our base." Neji said deactivation his Byakugan.

"So what now?" Tenten asked.

"The Blues have been one step ahead of us recently." Sakura said off-hand.

"There're invading our base! And we're not even there to defend it. Oh the humiliation! Men, this aggression cannot stand. We'll beat those Blues all the way back across the canyon. This is the moment we have all been training for!" Chouji declared determined. Sakura sweat dropped. All throughout the mission, he has been more energetic then usual. Maybe it was because of the fact it was his first time leading.

"Training? We haven't done any training." Shikamaru replied and then added. "Wait, is sleep considered training?"

"Neji! As with all our battle plans, I want you to smack Shikamaru in the back of the head."

"Yes sir!" Neji smacked Shikamaru in the back of the head.

"Ow...stop hitting me." Neji was enjoying this very much.

"So what are your orders, captain Chouji?" Sakura asked, knowing that he would go into another speech.

"Men, this won't be easy. The Blues will be totally bunkered down. At both bases, this gives them an enormous strategic advantage! But we're the Red team."

All of a sudden, a red flag appeared behind Chouji and everybody heard singing.

"Sure, you might not be the best squad...might not be smart...or energetic, or have any skills that qualify you for duty in any other legitimately recognized military unit. However..."

"Where did that flag come from?" Sakura asked. Neji answered, sort of.

"Flag? Who gives a fuck about the flag? How about who's singing?"

"But with precise operations, and proper communications, we will emerge victorious! With a little luck, one of us in particular, will die a horrible death! Either at the hands of the Blues, or as part of a cunning distraction by yours truly."

"Why don't we invade Blue base?" Neji asked.

"Nonsense, Blue base is much more fortified."

"Blue base has no one in it."

"What?" Chouji looked at Neji who had his Byakugan active.

"There's no one in Blue base."

"Alright, change of plans men. Blue base it is."

* * *

_Back to Red base_

"Sasuke."

"Ah yes, hello Naruto. So sorry to sneak up on you when you were busy quarrelling about, well whatever it is exactly you people do here. I'm guessing some kind of ditch digging or something."

"Blue team doesn't even have any shovels."

"Ahuh-huh-huh excuse me." Naruto coughed loudly to cover the sound of him turning on his radio.

* * *

_Back in the back of Blue base_

"Ah the sun feels good." Lee remarked. He stayed behind while the rest of his team investigated Red base. His radio suddenly turned on to the sound of coughing.

"_So Sasuke, you just showed up here and decided to attack us."_

"Umm, my name is Lee."

"_And now you caught us at knifepoint, and it looks like we're in big trouble."_

"Uh, that doesn't sound like something I would do. I think you have the wrong number."

"_Here at the Red base. Sasuke. You found us and are holding us prisoner. At the Red base. Sasuke."_

"Uh Red base no, uh, I'm at the back of the Blue base. The basssse."

"_If someone nearby, someone that is not a prisoner, somehow knew what was going on and could help us. Someone for insistence, in green spandex. Who somehow knew about the situation, and figured out what the fuck other people were talking about, and tried to fucking help us, and then we would be saved."_

"Yeah, you're defiantly crazy."

_Red base_

"Why do you keep explaining things to me? I understand the situation perfectly. I ambushed you, you're quivering in fear." Sasuke asked, patience quickly running out.

"Yeah, what are you, the narrator now or something?" Kiba asked annoyed.

"I just want everyone to be on the same page about **Sasuke, ambushing us, at the red base.**"

"We know."

"Sasuke, the bad guy."

"We know!"

"And we're here at the Red base. Which isn't the Blue base, or the caves, or the cliffs, or that weird tree, or the windmill."

"We get it dude, we're standing right here."

"Maybe we should take this from the top. Do you want to write this down?"

"No!"

"I think your friend here has lost his marbles." Sasuke said, clearly annoyed.

"**Red base, no one is in the state of Sasuke."**

* * *

_Close to the Red base_

"There's the base." Red team made their way close to their base.

"It looks like there're in trouble. Is that the Uchiha? That guy's a dick."

"Hah! The Blues have overextended themselves and spread their forces too thin! Classic blunder. Change of plans, men. Instead of hitting Blue Base, we're going to take back our own base!"

They were about to charge but a streak of green flew by them.

"It's Lee!"

"Shit!"

"Re-change of plans men. Blue base it is."

"Fuck this."

Red team ran back to the opponent's base.

* * *

_Red base_

"**Dynamic Entry!"** Sasuke flew out of the base and Lee followed and proceeded to pound the living daylights out of Sasuke.

"Haha, I can't believe Lee came through."

"Great, now we need to get the flag before the other team does."

"What makes you think that they haven't already?"

"We would know." Lee came back up and untied everybody and ran to the center of the base where the flag was. Coincidently, the Red team was in the exact same place. Each team ran at the exact same time and got closer and closer and...both teams touched the flag at the same time.

* * *

_Later_

"So, who won?" Red team and Blue team stood in front of Kakashi who was supposed to announce the winner.

"The winner is...both teams." Kakashi smirked at the face faults.

Oh well...looks like everybody gets a week-end pass at the Konoha Spa Resort.

* * *

I had a good time with this chapter. The last part is from Red vs. Blue. If you want specifics on the episodes used. 

Episodes used: 95, 97, 98. I'll give you a link in my profile.


	13. Unexpected Discoveries

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 11**_

* * *

_**NaruSakuIno won but I will do it in a different way. Read on to find out. The last part of the chapter is really smutty so I'm warning you in case you are in a public place, like the library or something. Keep an eye out for the all caps and you'll know when to stop reading at that point.**_

* * *

_Konoha_

Sakura was tired.

Sakura first woke up on the road, clinging on to Naruto. Remembering what happened before she suddenly passed out; she realized the Yoshimitsu knocked her out. Raising her head to look for Yoshimitsu, she couldn't see him outside the white sheet covering the wagon she and Naruto rode in. Sunlight suddenly flooded the wagon as the flap was removed and Kakashi stepped in. Kakashi sat down in front of them and explained what happened after she was knocked out. Sakura was formulating plans for revenge against Yoshimitsu but when she heard he stayed behind, all those plans were shot down.

After Kakashi finished, he left Sakura alone with her thoughts. It wouldn't be until a few days later that they would arrive in Konoha. Sakura stayed by Naruto's side as the gates of Konoha came into view. Suddenly the reason why they left in the first place came to mind and she was worried. They rolled until they reached the hospital where Tsunade was waiting for them along with Minato, Kushina, and the rest. Tsunade called for a stretcher and to Sakura's surprise, they came right out with a stretcher, no questions asked. Sakura hesitated before Tsunade assured her that she would personally take care of Naruto and she left the medics take Naruto and she followed close behind.

After Naruto was checked out by Tsunade, who found out that Naruto's chakra system is utterly destroyed and a new one is forming in its place, whether or not that's good remains to be seen. After Naruto was delivered to his room, Sakura took her place beside Naruto in the bed and remained there to this day, never sleeping, always besides him.

It's been two weeks since Naruto arrived at the hospital. Since then, Sakura has never left his side. She barely eat, only a few bites of bread but that's all. She only got an hour sleep total out of the weeks and she never sat/laid anywhere except in the bed, holding on to him for dear life. Ino, Katsumi, her sensei's, and other teammates came by now and again to check on Sakura. The only time Sakura has been separated from Naruto when Tsunade finally had enough of Sakura's self-starvation and did the only thing she could.

Storm the room and force Sakura out.

* * *

_Flashback_

_**SLAM!**_

_The doors flew open and the room shook as Tsunade stomped into the room. Sakura lazily looked at the busty blonde._

"_Hi." Sakura said before snuggling closer to Naruto, not seeing the furious look on her face. She yelped when she felt two hands grab her and attempted to take her away from her Naruto. She grabbed the bed as hard as she could and held on for dear life. "Tsunade-teme, what are you doing?" Ignoring the suffix, Tsunade increased her strength trying to detach Sakura from the bed._

"_It's not healthy doing what you are doing to yourself!"_

"_I don't want to leave him!" Sakura started kicking. Tsunade grunted as her stomach got kicked._

"_If you keep this up, you'll be in the hospital!" Sakura refused to listen to reason and increased her struggle. Tsunade sighed but suddenly smirked as an idea came to mind. "Fine, you win." Tsunade dropped Sakura and started to walk away and Sakura took her place back beside Naruto. Inner Sakura took this time to speak up._

"_**Sakura, you do realize that Tsunade isn't one to give up easily."**_ _Eyes widening in realization, she drew her sword and spun around just in time to stop Tsunade reaching for her. The tip of her blade was touching the Hokage's neck. Sakura narrowed her eyes. _

"_Get the fuck away from me, you bitch!" Sakura demanded, Inner Sakura merging with her temporarily. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the disrespect the pink haired girl was giving her. She mentally smiled. She was just like her back in her childhood. Maybe after this was over, she would take her as her apprentice. From what she heard from Kakashi and Jiraiya, she has very near perfect chakra control, which is perfect for medical jutsu's, but right now, she needs to take care of someone who can't take care of herself. Sensing her assistant's chakra outside, she devised a quick plan._

"_Alright, you win." Tsunade poofed away, leaving Sakura alone...for about 2 seconds before the door opened and Shizune causally walked in. Sakura, however; wasn't fooled. Sakura turned her attention, and her sword, to an unsuspecting Shizune, who dropped her charts in surprise._

"_Sakura-san, what are you doing?"_

"_You're not fooling me, Tsunade-teme. I know it's you. Drop the henge." Sakura said dangerously._

"_Sakura-san, I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_**It's not Tsunade."**_ _A poof near her was heard and Sakura decided that she had enough. Clenching her fist, she poured all her rage and Soul Calibur's energy unconsciously, into her punch._

"_STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, YOU FUCKING WHORE!" _

_Sakura's fist made contact with Tsunade's face and sent her flying through six walls and a desk. Sakura stared in disbelief at what she just done. Tsunade emerged from the rubble with a broken nose and frankly, she has had it._

"_ANBU!" A bear masked ANBU and more appeared beside the Hokage._

"_Hokage-sama, are you alright?"_

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I want you to take your squad and separate Sakura Haruno from Naruto Uzumaki. Use as many people as you need."_

"_Hai."_

_Sakura watched as the Hokage finished giving her orders. She growled as they turned toward her and charged. She brought her sword up and prepared to defend herself._

"_Bring it, bastards."_

_Eventually, it took 3 ANBU squads and the near castration of 4 genitals to remove Sakura from Naruto's bed and knock her out with a heavy dose of sedatives. Soul Calibur was giving Sakura his energy to see how well she would do. One lesson was learned from that event._

_A female protecting her love is more powerful then all the Hokage's combined._

_End Flashback_

* * *

After Sakura was knocked out and Tsunade's nose was taken care of, Sakura's malnutrition was taken care of and was given sleep pills for her insomnia. Within 5 days, she was back by Naruto's side and taking better care of herself.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

Zasalamel looked at the warriors in front of him. Normally he wouldn't be doing this but recent circumstances have changed his priorities. Damn that blade and his power-hungry ego. He almost ruined everything. Fortunally, the circumstances have changed somewhat so it didn't hurt him. He just had to step it up a notch but the problem with that is that Naruto is too well protected to get to. That's what these warriors are for. Zasalamel smirked at how he managed to convince them to follow him. The redhead girl was one of the hardest to convince since she was well on her way to dying from possessing the Heavenly Sword, but he promised a 'cure' to her predicament. That alone assured him her loyalty. Now the only thing left to do is wait for the opportune moment.

* * *

_Back in Konoha_

In the hospital room, Sakura laid besides Naruto as he slept. She remembered the events after she was knocked out. She woke up in another bed, full restraints on her. She was hooked up to an IV that was feeding her nutrients that her body was sorely lacking. Tsunade came by, along with Shizune, to check up on her and at the end of the 5th day, she was allowed to leave. She snapped out of her musings by the sound of the door opening. She looked up to see Ino coming in the room. She sat down on the opposite side of the bed and looked at Sakura who looked back.

"How have you been forehead?" Ino asked.

"I'm doing fine. You?" She nodded.

"I'm doing good." Ino turned toward Naruto. "How's he doing?" Sakura just shook her head.

"Still the same." Ino noticed the look on Sakura's face. Ino sighed before she got up and walked to the other side of the bed where Sakura was. She gently tugged on Sakura's arm.

"Come on. You need to get out into the sun." Sakura shook her head. Ino sighed again. She heard about the incident between her and the Hokage. "Sakura, you're wasting away in here." Hearing no reaction from the pink haired lover, she tried something else. "Look, he will still be here whether or not you're here or not."

"But what if he wakes up and I'm not here? He'll think that I don't care for him anymore."

"Naruto-kun knows that you love him and nothing will ever change that." That got a reaction, but not the one she was hoping for. Sakura slowly turned her head toward her with narrowed eyes.

"Ino, why did you call him Naruto-_kun_?" Ino's eyes widened at the realization that she slipped up...big time. She quickly tried to cover it up.

"Umm...well...it's just that he means a lot to me and that..." Ino started to stammer on and Sakura couldn't understand a word but she understood perfectly the blush on her face and the hidden meaning in her words. Sakura silenced Ino with her finger.

"Alright, I'll go with you." Ino sighed in relief and watched as Sakura swung her legs over and Ino couldn't help but notice how smooth her legs were and she wanted to feel that smoothness in her hands. She could feel her face heating up a bit and she quickly shook her head to get rid of those thoughts.

"_Oh kami...I can't be bisexual...can I?"_ She mentally asked herself. She received no answer.

"Ino." Ino snapped back into reality at the sound of her name to see Sakura looking her. "You alright?" Ino nodded and lead Sakura out of the room. One thought ran through Sakura's mind as she watched Ino talk about random stuff.

"_She can't be developing feelings for Naruto-kun...could she?"_

* * *

_**MINI-SMUT**_

_Later_

The door opened and Sakura silently walked in. Sakura was happy. She actually had fun with Ino today, despite the constant nagging of her Inner Persona stating that Naruto was hers and hers alone while pounding on an Ino voodoo doll. While they were hanging out, Sakura decided to test her theory by dropping Naruto's name once in a while and see how she would react. She was in disbelief at seeing the faintest hints of red on her cheeks and the way she stumbles over herself. At first, she was mad at Ino for liking Naruto but after a while, she begun to realize that it wasn't her fault. Naruto was a god given gift and it was only a matter of time before someone else noticed him. At least it was someone who she knew and not some random girl off the street. That, however, presents a problem. Would she be okay sharing Naruto with Ino, if she would even consider sharing at all? Deciding to test her theory, she closed her eyes and thought of Naruto and the feelings that he invoke in her. She felt the butterflies in her stomach and the blush on her face and the growing need in between her legs. She saw him, his tan skin, tough muscles, and his large manhood. Sakura giggled and blushed at that particular image. She could feel his body against hers and how good it feels.

Her body was heating up and Sakura relocated to the bathroom where she could have some privacy.

Confident about her feelings toward Naruto, she began to think about Ino. She saw her body, her creamy, silky skin and her blond hair flowing in the wind and her beautiful smile, shining with the sun.

Sakura moaned and unconsciously moved her hand to her private place between her legs and started to rub it.

She remembered that when they were about 8, Ino had invited her to a sleepover and Ino made the suggestion that they learn how to kiss. She, at first, rejected the idea, but after the insistence of Ino, she tried it and shared her first, Sakura insists that it didn't count, kiss with Ino. It was only for a second, but she liked it and she asked for another round, just for practice mind you. Their lips stayed together until they needed air and broke apart. Her mind went to the times she and Ino went to the bathhouse together. Sakura realized that her eyes would always linger on Ino's slender form for a second too long.

Sakura slipped her hand behind her panties and slipped a finger in.

Even now, she would find an excuse to find someway to touch her. Whether it was brushing her hair or putting sunscreen on her back. She could feel the familiar butterflies in her stomach and she was certain that she had a deep blush on her face.

Another finger. The pressure started to build in her and she decided for one last test.

She then imagined herself spooning against Naruto and Ino laying her head on her lap. She could see herself having her hands all over Ino, stroking Ino's hair while Naruto's hands were on both her and Ino, then her mind shifted to one of her 'sessions' with Naruto...only this time, Ino was there and both her and Ino was licking the side of Naruto's shaft while Naruto was gripping the sheets so hard, his knuckles were turning white. She could see Ino take the whole thing in her mouth and Naruto erupted in her. Ino took her mouth off Naruto's member and Sakura reached out and turned Ino's head and Sakura's head closed the distance and they shared a cum kiss.

Sakura screamed as she reached orgasm, with her juices soaking her panties and the shorts. Sakura laid back on the wall behind her as she was breathing heavily while she was in her high. After she came down from her high, one thought ran through her mind.

_**END SMUT**_

"_Oh kami...I'm really am bisexual and I don't care. I still love Naruto but now I think I love Ino as well."_ Sakura suddenly groaned. _"What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can't tell Ino that I love her...or can I? The very fact that I can picture it so clearly and so vividly tells it all."_

"_**Might I be so bold as to inject my professional opinion?"**_ Sakura screamed, surprised at hearing Soul Calibur speak to her at this particular point in time.

"_What do you want? Wait...how are you even talking to me? I don't have you on me."_

"_**I don't need to be on you to talk to you. There will always be a link between us."**_

"_So does that mean you can see my thoughts?"_

"_**..."**_

"_Soul Calibur..."_ Sakura said with a low voice and a dangerous tone.

"_**...maybe..."**_

"_Ugh...what did you want?"_

"_**Let nature take its course. There will always be a time for feelings to come out."**_

"_How would you know this?"_

"_**I have been held by many people and some found love while others lost their chance. I know for a fact that life will give people a chance to express their feelings. You just have to recognize that chance."**_

Sakura didn't respond at first, instead took the time to think about what he said. He could be right, if it wasn't for Soul Edge, she wouldn't be where she was today.

"_Alright, I'll wait."_

"_**Good. Now, I would suggest that you get plenty of rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you."**_

"_Huh, what big day? _No answer._ Are you still there? _Still no answer._ Answer me bastard!"_ No answer. She growled in frustration but moaned as she felt that she had fingers still inside of her. She slowly took them out, savoring the feeling. She was hoping that she could feel something else inside her, something for instance, long and hard and tasty.

She groaned.

She was heating up again. She took her fingers out of her pants and licked the juices off of her fingers. She tastes just as good as Naruto. She took off her clothes and stepped into the shower and after she was done, put on a bathrobe, went out into Naruto's room and changed into her spare pj's. After donning them, she climbed into bed with Naruto. She snuggled next to him and sighed contently. She hoped to Kami that he wakes up soon. She remembered a song that she heard on the radio and begun to sing it. The song was called _**Simple and Clean**_ by _**Utada Hikaru**_.

_**When you walk away  
You don't hear me say please  
Oh baby, don't go  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight  
It's hard to let it go **_

You're giving me too many things lately  
You're all I need  
You smiled at me, and said

Don't get me wrong I love you  
But does that mean I have to meet your father?  
When we are older you'll understand  
What I meant when I said "No,  
I don't think life is quite that simple"

When you walk away  
You don't hear me say please  
Oh baby, don't go  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight  
It's hard to let it go

The daily things that keep us all busy  
Are confusing me  
That's when you came to me and said

Wish I could prove I love you  
But does that mean I have to walk on water?  
When we are older you'll understand  
It's enough when I say so  
And maybe some things are that simple

When you walk away  
You don't hear me say please  
Oh baby, don't go  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight  
It's hard to let it go

Hold me  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all  
Nothing's like before

When you walk away  
You don't hear me say please  
Oh baby, don't go  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight  
It's hard to let it go

Hold me  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all  
Nothing's like before

Hold me  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
Is a little later on  
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all  
Nothing's like before 

Outside the door of Naruto's hospital room stood Ino Yamanaka. She heard that song that Sakura was singing and followed along, while crying on the inside. She feels a pang of guilt in her heart every time she sees Sakura with Naruto. She was angry at herself, angry for being the selfish brat that she once was that was obsessed with the Uchiha and wanted nothing else to do with anything. She was angry at herself for not noticing Naruto sooner. All it took for her to realize her feelings was one simple talk with Naruto. She jumped when the door beside her suddenly opened and Sakura stepped out. They stood there, not saying a word. Sakura sighed, before taking Ino's hand and led her into the room. She closed the door and put Ino against it and suddenly Ino started taking short breaths as Sakura's mouth was close to her ear and Ino felt the cold sensation of a kunai on her neck. She could feel Sakura's breath in her ear and that sent shivers through out her body.

"_Listen very closely Ino. I don't know what kind of feelings you have for Naruto-kun and I don't know what your intentions are with him or if they are good or bad, but recent discoveries have me thinking the former, but let me tell you this right now, if you break his heart or hurt him in any way..." _Sakura increased the pressure of the kunai on her skin. Sakura got closer to her ear, which sent more shivers. _"I will give you a fate much, much worse then death. Do you understand?"_ Ino nodded very slightly as not to risk being cut by the kunai. _"Good, now here's what's going to happen. I'm going to let you go and you're going to go home and really think about what you think you feeling for him and you decide what you are really feeling, Ino-hime." _Ino's face turned a very, very deep red and nodded and Sakura let her go and Ino left the room and Sakura returned to her spot beside Naruto. Sakura sighed. Hopefully, Ino would figure out who she really loves.

* * *

_The next day_

Sakura was waking up. There was a tug in the back of her hair that kept her from going back to sleep. She rubbed the back of her head and the tugging stopped. Finally she could go back to sleep, however; the tugging came back. She groaned and turned around. The tugging went away...for about 5 seconds before it came back, this time in the front. Deciding she had enough, she opened her eyes to an unusual sight. Naruto was chewing on a lot of her pink hair, enough to fill his mouth. Sakura stared in wonder.

"N-Naruto?" Naruto continued to eat her hair. "Naruto-kun!" She practically shouted. Naruto's eyes shot opened and a muffled 'Sakura-chan' came out of his hair filled mouth, along with a question that Naruto asked her and it took her a little time to translate.

"_Sakura-chan...why do you taste like strawberries?"_ Sakura managed to figure out what he was muffling. Sakura didn't care what he was saying, she was just glad that he was awake. She latched onto him and cried into his shoulder. Naruto didn't know why she was crying so he just held her. Both Naruto and Sakura didn't hear the telltale sound of the door opening and a gasp, but they heard the sound of the door shutting. They broke apart just in time for Tsunade to come barging in, take one look at the blond haired boy, and engulf them both in a bone crushing hug (literally). After Tsunade got that hug out of her system, she examined Naruto and discovered that the chakra system has solidified itself into an unknown type. They would have to wait to see what exactly happened. Naruto was ordered to stay for 24 hours for observation. Sakura was ordered home, much to her dismay.

* * *

_24 hours later_

Ino waited as Naruto was in the process of checking out. Sakura was held back by Mitsurugi at the house and Ino took it upon herself to escort him home. She watched as Tsunade rolled Naruto in a wheelchair while complaining that he could walk. Tsunade just nodded her head until she reached Ino.

"Alright brat, now you can get up."

"Finally." Naruto stood up, happy to get out of the chair. He smiled as he saw Ino. "Hey Ino...where's Sakura-chan? She laughed as she put her arm on Naruto's shoulder so that her entire arm was touching Naruto. She explained as they walked.

"Well, I'll tell you. Our dear Sakura-chan was held back by our glorious samurai warrior who wanted something or other and I took it upon myself to escort the valiant warrior home."

"Aww Ino-chan, you didn't have to do that." Naruto was in a playful mood today and rubbed his cheek with Ino's cheek and she giggled. She was in a playful mood today as well.

"Well, I wanted to. It was no time off my day and besides, I wanted to spend some time with you."

"With me? Why?" Naruto asked. Ino brought a finger to her chin.

"Well, I like you." Naruto stopped.

"You like me?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused.

"Of course, why are you so surprised?"

"Sasuke..."

"Oh." She wasn't surprised. During the academy days, both her and Sakura was obsessed with Sasuke and paid attention to nothing else and hit a lot of people, Naruto most of all. She could see where he would get the impression that she would hate him. Well, she'll take care of that right now. "He's old news now. There's another I like." Ino continued walking.

"Who?" Naruto followed and he could see a smirk on her face.

"I'll give you a hint. He's someone that I once disliked but my opinion of him changed because of something that happened and I have seen in a new light...in more ways than one."

"A riddle? I don't like riddles. I can never figure them out." Ino chuckled.

"There are more then enough clues for you to figure out. Now come on, our beloved Sakura-chan is waiting for us." Ino brought her arm out and Naruto took the hint and linked his arm with hers and continued on their way. However, the gears started working in Naruto's brain.

* * *

_**SMUT BEGINS, SKIP IF YOU WANT**_

_Back at the house_

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

There was no answer. Nobody was in the house. Both Naruto and Ino wondered where she could be. After a moment of thinking, she thought of one place she could be.

"Naruto, I think I know where she is. Come on." Ino took Naruto's hand and led him across the room, up the stairs, down the hall, and to the right until the reached a set of doors. "This is the study. Sakura spends most, if not all, of her free time in here reading different scrolls and books in here ever since she found it." Naruto gazed upon the elaborate designs on the door. Ino nudged him forward. Naruto took the door handle, slowly turned it and quietly opened the door and stepped in with Ino following. After going in, they searched for a head with pink hair among the couches and chairs in the room. Sure enough, they spied a bundle of pink hair on a couch with the back facing them. "She doesn't know we're here. Let's surprise her." Ino whispered to Naruto who nodded. Silently they crept over to her and as they got closer, they could hear...moaning?

They reached the couch and peeked over the edge and there was Sakura...naked...with Icha Icha Paradise in her left hand on her bare chest and her right hand messaging her womanhood in between her legs...all the while she was moaning Naruto's name, begging him to fuck her. Naruto's jaw dropped and Ino smirked while picking up Naruto's mouth from the floor. Ino quietly bumped Naruto so he was standing up and Ino took her place beside him.

"Ahem." Ino stated. The reaction is immediate. Sakura's eyes snapped open and sat up straight and the book flew from her hands and hit Naruto (not too hard) in the chest but he paid no mind to it as it dropped in front of him. Unfortunely for Sakura, she reached the point of orgasm and the sudden rush of adrenaline that was running through her increased the pleasure of her release and she came...very hard, spilling her juices all over the floor.

"N-Na-Naruto-kun, Ino...w-what are you doing here so early?" Sakura sputtered out, a full body blush appearing on her skin, and trying to cover herself as best as she can. Ino's smirk was even bigger.

"Oh nothing..." She said as she bent down to pick up the Icha Icha Paradise book in front of Naruto. "Tsunade-sama let Naruto go early and since you were busy with Mitsurugi at the time, I escorted him home. It seems we come at a bad time." Ino took a look at the cover of the book. "I am surprised though. I never thought you would be reading these books. Do you read them for the storyline or for the sex?" Sakura turned away embarrassed and mutter something.

"_Both."_

"Ah, I see. Tell me, which volume is your favorite so far?" Sakura muttered something that Ino couldn't hear. "Speak up forehead, I can't hear you."

"_Volume 4."_ Ino's smirk became a full blown grin.

"What a coincidence." Ino reached behind her and reached into her supply pouch strapped behind her and pulled out...her own Icha Icha Paradise Volume 4. Now it was Sakura's jaw turn to drop. "That's my favorite too." Naruto could do nothing as Ino put the book back and slither her way over to Sakura and climbed onto the couch and started to bend over to become horizontal and Sakura had no choice but to lie down and both her and Ino were face to face. "It's weird that Volume 4 is both our favorites. The one where Rukia and Orihime (no relation to Bleach) made out in front of the love of their lives. Sakura gasped as Ino's fingers made their way to Sakura's dripping entrance and started to rub it. She was still very sensitive down there and she was feeling very horny right now.

"I-Ino, you b-bitch." Sakura managed to get out between breaths. Sakura risked a glance to her side. Naruto was sitting down, also breathing heavily at what he was seeing and he loved it...if the big bulge in his pants is any indication.

"Ah ah ah, Sakura-chan, there's no need for language. After all, there's something I got to tell you." Ino brought her face closer to Sakura's left ear, away from Naruto's sight, copying what Sakura did to Ino that night in Naruto's hospital room, except there's no kunai.

"_I thought long and hard about my feelings and I have discovered two things. The first thing is that I do indeed have feelings for Naruto-kun and I'm still not sure if it is love. I'm close to figuring it out. The other thing is that I'm bisexual and that somehow, I have feelings for you but I'm willing to stay away and let the two of you be happy if that's what you want."_

The reaction she got was not what she expected.

"_Stupid pig, I'm bisexual too."_ Ino gasped as Sakura's fingers made their way to Ino's dripping womanhood and she slipped two fingers in. Sakura raised her head toward Ino's ear. _"All in all, it all comes down to what feelings Naruto has for you. I'll gladly share him with you if your feelings are true and his to you, but if he doesn't feel the same way..." _Sakura trailed off, leaving the rest to the imagination.

"_Deal."_ They closed the deal with a kiss and attacked each other's mouths with their tongues. After the need for air rose, they separated, gasping for breath. Ino's eyes moved to the side and back. "Sakura-chan, I think someone needs your attention." Sakura turned to head to the side to see Naruto with his shaft out, giving it light strokes. Ino moved back a little and Sakura crawled off the couch and crawled on all fours to come face to face with Naruto's dick. It looked just as tasty as ever. She gave it a few licks on the head and kisses along the length before taking it into her mouth and started to move back and forth while licking and sucking while slipping a finger back into herself and within 5 minutes, Naruto came in her mouth and she greedily gulped down all of his essence. After his eruptions stopped and she gulped down the last of it, she took her mouth out and gave it a few licks to clean it off. She licked her lips satisfied and turned around to face Ino pumping her fingers in and out of her, desperate for some release after witnessing such an erotic scene. She watched as Ino came and her juices spilled all over the floor, mixing with Sakura's juices. She waited until after Ino came down from her high.

"Come on Ino, help me and Naruto clean this up."

_10 minutes later_

"Let me make this very clear to the both of you." Sakura declared after they finished cleaning up. Both Naruto and Ino stood at attention at the stern tone Sakura was emitting. "This...never...happened. The only reason why I did what I did was Ino-pig taking advantage of me." Sakura turned to Ino. "Ino, let me make this very clear to you. For now, the only one that can touch me is Naruto-kun. That was a one time deal, got it? You will never take advantage of me ever again." Ino nodded. Sakura turned to Naruto. "And you...knock next time will you?" Naruto nodded. Sakura turned and left, muttering something. _"I can't believe that happened. Stupid Ino-pig, taking advantage of me, I'll show her."_

_**End chapter**_

* * *

Ok, that last part was really smutty. This chapter is for all those who wanted more smut (and you know who you are). The action will start next chapter and the next smut won't be for a while. For those wondering, I have plans for Ino and you will see the first part of it in the next chapter. Tell me how I did on this chapter. I want to know how I did. I want to know if you liked it or didn't like it. 

As always, please read and review.

_**Gnosismaster**_


	14. Blood Gulch

_**Naruto Uzumaki...Nightmare of Konoha**_

_**Chapter 12**_

* * *

_Couple of days later_

It has been a couple of days since the not-exactly-threesome threesome. Naruto was banned from training until the Hokage said otherwise and Naruto's allies, especially Tira and Hidan, made sure of that. Since Naruto and Ino discovered that Sakura likes to read Icha Icha Paradise, she started to read them even in the presence of other people but not feeling brave enough to read them outside of the house. Eventually Naruto got curious and while Naruto's head was on Sakura's lap reading a scroll, he got up, put the scroll down, walked to the 'Porn Section' as it was engraved on the bookcase and grabbed the first volume and retook his place on Sakura's lap all the while Sakura was watching him. He couldn't see the small smile Sakura had on her face because the book was hiding it. Within 10 minutes, Sakura started to count as soon as he opened the book; Naruto blushed and got a boner. Sakura thought it would be fun to tease him.

_Flashback_

"_Aww Naru-kun, you come across something exciting?" Naruto blushed a very deep red as Sakura's finger made circles around the head of the bulge in his pants, making him even harder._

"_Umm, well...I..." He was cut off by Sakura's chuckling._

"_Don't worry. I was just teasing. I went through the same thing when I first started." Naruto sighed in relief until..."It only gets worse from here." Sakura petted his head (the one attached to his neck, not the other one) as Naruto stared in horror at the book while Sakura continued where she left off._

_End Flashback_

Naruto started to spend time with Ino. She wanted to get to know him better and Sakura knew this. She knew that this was necessary in order to find out her feelings, but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. At the beginning of the third day, Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Tira, Zabuza, Kisame, Hidan, Mitsurugi, and Tayuya was summoned to the Hokage's office. When each warrior appeared in the Hokage's office, they were met with the sight of a fully alert Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya. Soon everybody was gathered in the Hokage's office and Tsunade observed each of them, and then settled her gaze on Naruto.

"Naruto, I'm sure that you are getting tired of not training right?" Naruto shook his head roughly.

"You damn right baa-chan." Tsunade's eye twitched.

"Well, you can train now." Naruto cheered. "But not here." Naruto fell silent.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yeah, where the hell are we supposed to train baa-chan?" This time Sakura spoke up and there were two reactions. Tsunade's eye started twitch violently and Jiraiya erupted in laughter because Sakura called Tsunade baa-chan just like Naruto. Sakura raised an eyebrow in confusion at the spectacle. "What? What did I say?" Sakura heard snickering to the side of her and she turned and saw Naruto and Ino trying to hold in their laughs...and failing.

"You (snickers) called her (snickers) baa-chan." Ino managed to get out. Sakura paled and slowly turned to see Tsunade's furious face and she thought she heard a snarl coming from her. Sakura gulped and closed her eyes and prepared for her death. She heard a sigh and Tsunade's voice.

"It's alright Sakura. I'm not going to kill you." Sakura opened one of her eyes, and then opened the other one and she breathe a sigh of relief seeing Tsunade with a calm, yet slightly angry face. "Now for the reason why I can't allow you to train here. We know nothing about your new chakra system. We have no idea what will happen if you train with it within Konoha walls so that's why you will be going to a secluded place to train and discover the capabilities of your new chakra." Naruto's face scrunched up in thought.

"I guess I understand. Where are we going to train anyway?"

"It is a fair distance from here. It is a box canyon only accessible to ninja and any incident that happens will be contained. It is called _Blood Gulch_. It has been said that ghosts like to lurk there." Naruto paled.

"G-ghosts?" Tsunade smirked.

"Yes Naruto, ghosts. Are you afraid of ghosts?" Naruto shook his head.

"N-no, w-why would I-I be?" Naruto stuttered out.

"Good, everybody else here and Jiraiya is going to accompany him and give him somebody to spar with."

"Umm, Hokage-sama?" Ino spoke up.

"Yes Ino?"

"Why am I going? I'm not nearly as powerful as Naruto and wouldn't be a good sparing partner."

"Because Naruto might need someone to poke around his head to find potential problems." Sakura raised her eyebrow.

"Okay." Ino didn't really believe her reasoning, but she was grateful for the opportunity.

"How long will we be gone?"

"As long as it takes. You will leave at dawn tomorrow. During your stay at Blood Gulch, I'll send an ANBU to check up on your progress. Understand?" They nodded before Naruto realized something.

"What about living conditions?"

"You'll have to bring your own sleeping bags and stuff. I'll have someone deliver a week's supply of food once a week for all of you. Shizune will also tag along with you for medical purposes. Now go and get ready." Everybody nodded and left the room...everybody but Sakura. Tsunade looked up from her papers.

"Is there something else?"

"Baa...Hokage-sama." Sakura quickly corrected herself, lest she be on the receiving end of one of her punches. "Why exactly is Ino coming on this trip?" Tsunade smiled and leaned back in her chair.

"I thought that you and Ino could keep him in check. After all, the two of you are his most precious people and he listens to you."

"There's another reason isn't there?" Sakura caught the hidden meaning in her sentence and she was even more convinced by the smirk that Tsunade had on her face.

"Maybe...maybe not." Tsunade chuckled at the glare Sakura was giving her. "Let's just say that I'm giving somebody an opportunity." Sakura's eyes widened. "Ah, I see you know what I'm talking about."

"Why are you doing this and how did you know about Ino's feelings?" Tsunade rested her head on her interlocked fingers.

"You're not the only one that wants to see Naruto happy. I noticed Ino's feelings toward Naruto when Ino and I talked to each other at Ichiraku and I'm merely giving the both of them a chance to realize how they really feel towards each other. Don't get me wrong, Naruto will always love you no matter what happens, but he may discover another love." Sakura groaned and sunk in the chair behind her.

"But that's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that he'll forget about the love that we have. I'm afraid that he'll move on." Tears started to leak from her eyes and she started to cry. She didn't notice Tsunade get up and walk around the desk, pull up the chair next to her, and embrace her in a hug. Sakura cried her eyes out in Tsunade's lap while Tsunade comforted her. After a few minutes, Sakura calmed down enough to be talked to.

"Sakura, it's alright."

"No, it's not! I'm going to lose him and there's nothing I can do!" Sakura wailed, horrified at the thought of losing Naruto. Tsunade sighed. She was dealing with a child after all.

"You are not going to lose him."

"Yes, I am!"

"Sakura, he will not forget you."

"But why not?"

"Why would he? You are his first love." Sakura calmed down at Tsunade's words.

"I know that." She said softly.

"You are the first person he wanted acknowledgment from and got it from." Hearing nothing from the kuniochi, she continued. "You are the only one that he trusts with his life. You were the first to give him a purpose in life." Sakura nodded. "You were also the one who gave him comfort in his time of need. Hell, even Minato and Kushina consider you their daughter-in-law." Sakura gasped at that. "You were also the first one to give him pleasure, both mentally and physically." Sakura gasped and snapped her head to look at Tsunade.

"How did you..."

"How did I know that you're giving Naruto weekly blowjobs?" Getting scared, she nodded her head. Tsunade chuckled.

"Me and Naruto had a really, really, long talk a while back. He told me everything about his life and about you and your little 'class' and everything that followed. Personally, I'm glad that a blowjob is the farthest you have gotten." Sakura blushed and turned her head away from looking at Tsunade's face. Tsunade raised her eyebrow.

"To be honest, we have been experimenting a little bit."

"Really, experimenting how?" Sakura blushed even more and didn't answer right away but when she did, it was with a low voice.

"_I like to be bound and gagged and be used by whatever Master Naruto wishes to do to me."_

Tsunade stared at her for a second before she started to chuckle then turn into laughter. Sakura whimpered and buried herself as much as she could in Tsunade's stomach.

Don't worry Sakura." Tsunade assured her as she stroked her hair. "It's natural for young people to experiment. I remember at your age, I used to experiment with a lot of crazy things just like you." Sakura whimpered again. "I think we're getting off topic." Sakura uncovered her face and looked at Tsunade with teary eyes.

"What will people think if they find out that Naruto has two girlfriends, both who are perfectly willing to share?"

"Sakura, I'll tell you a secret about my grandfather, the Shodai Hokage, which people knew at one time but was forgotten over time."

"R-really?" She nodded.

"Me, Minato, Sarutobi, and now you are the only ones who remember."

"W-what is it?" Tsunade smile before leaning in closer.

"My grandfather had two wives in his lifetime."

"So he remarried after the first one died?" Tsunade shook her head.

"No, he had two wives at the same time. They genuinely loved him and he them. It didn't matter if one was barren; he loved them both from the bottom of his heart." Sakura sniffed.

"So...it is possible for a boy to love two girls at the same time for the girls to love him and still be accepted by the public?" Sakura asked hopefully. She nodded. "There's hope for me?" She nodded again. Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes again but this time, they were tears of happiness. She brought her arms up and hugged Tsunade very tightly, while sobbing heavily as well. Tsunade just comforted her while she cried and let out her emotions. Eventually, she did calm down and she finished crying.

"You alright?" Sakura nodded and wiped her eyes. She took at look at Tsunade's clothes.

"I'm sorry. I got your clothes all wet." Tsunade laughed.

"It's alright. It was worth it. Why don't you go ahead and prepare for the trip tomorrow?" Sakura nodded and she turned and before she got to the door, Tsunade stopped her. "Sakura, why don't you clean yourself up a bit in the bathroom?" Sakura nodded, realizing that she probably needed it. She followed Tsunade's directions and soon she stood looking at herself in the mirror. To put it simply, she looked horrible. Gathering a washcloth in her hands, she wet it and washed her face. When she was done, she looked better and the rest would be taken care of when she took a shower. Rinsing the cloth out, she replaced it and left for home.

When she got home, she found Naruto arguing with Tira about something, but she didn't stay around to find out because she didn't want anybody to see her face. Gathering fresh clothes, she took a shower. After she was done, she started to pack for the training trip. After that, she plopped down on the bed and turned on the side and closed her eyes. Sakura chuckled as a pair of hands came over her eyes and a 'guess who'.

"Let's see, hands that are soft and caring and a voice that tells me that I will always be safe with him. Are you Naruto-kun?" There was a chuckle and her eyes were uncovered and she turned around to see Naruto's grinning face. She smiled and drew her face in to his and they kissed, while using tongues. They soon separated after air was needed. They were getting better at staying connected longer.

"Everything go ok with the old hag?"

"Yeah, I really needed that talk. You all packed yet?"

"Yeah, I was thinking, since this is the last time we are going to be alone for a while, I have a surprise for you." Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"You do?" She asked, and she smiled as he nodded.

"Close your eyes." He said. "And no matter what happens, keep them shut, Sakura-chan."

Sakura giggled - he was so cute when he looked serious - and closed her eyes. She waited, hearing and feeling him move about their bed, but unsure as to what he was doing.

The pink haired girl suddenly gasped, feeling his hands slide gently up her thighs and under her dress. They tickled slightly as they traced the band of her silk panties…and her breath caught as she felt him begin to slide them down her slim legs.

"Naru-kun, what..." She asked, forcing herself to keep her eyes shut, despite how much she desperately wanted to see her lover at work. She was interrupted by the blond boy's smoothing voice.

"Shh, my cherry blossom." He whispered, his breath warming her thighs. "Just trust me."

Then she felt Naruto's tongue flick across her entrance.

"Ohh…Naru-kun..." She moaned. She could practically FEEL it as Naruto smirked, a small snort bringing a blast of warm breath across her trembling lower lips.

"This is a small thank you for everything that you have done for me." Naruto chuckled, dipping his head back down to continue his 'thanks'. Sakura moaned again as Naruto tried to drill his tongue deeper into her hole.

"Ohh kami, you're welcome." She gasped, going stiff as Naruto started to suck on the bundle of nerves that were the main source of pleasure for the female body.

Sakura's back arched off the bed as his tongue made contact with her clit, diving under its hood to strike the mass of nerves and rub them raw. Naruto shocked her by inserting a finger in her dripping entrance, sawing it back and forth across her inner muscles, massaging the walls of her vagina into a state of rapture. She cried out in joy as a second finger was added, stretching her womanhood slightly and giving her a sense of fullness the likes of which she'd never felt before.

It was heaven, or as close to it as she could come. Naruto's acts upon her mound were indescribable. If his eating her out was this great, then what would actual sex be like?

Sakura squealed as Naruto hit a particularly sensitive spot, her mind going blank as the world dissolved into a mist of thick, creamy delight. Within minutes, Sakura came all over Naruto's face, her juices coating his whiskers, lips, and chin. Naruto smiled as he drank it all, coaxing more of the nectar from his lover with fingers and tongue.

After Sakura finished erupting, Naruto drank the last of her juices, and lapping at her entrance to clean it off (and enjoying the tremors it throughout Sakura). Naruto crawled up to his panting lover and lay next to her, stroking his fingers through her pink locks.

"If you want, I'll thank you like that anytime you want me too, Sakura-chan." He chuckled, enjoying the shudder his words brought to his exhausted girl. "So how do you like my thanks?" Sakura smile weakly, still feeling the high from the orgasm that Naruto gave her.

"I love it. Thank you so much." Sakura ended her thanks with a passionate kiss, which Naruto responded to.

"Ahem..." The two lovers jumped at the voice and turned their heads to see a grinning Kushina.

"Mom, how long have you been standing there?" Naruto asked. If anything, the grin on her face grew.

"Oh long enough to know that you have been reading Icha Icha Paradise." She started to walk toward Sakura and she gulped in fear. Sakura's body started to shake as the red haired mother drew her face near her ear. _"I'm watching you girl. If you so much as make him feel guilty, I won't hesitate to hunt you down and slice you up into tiny pieces and then kill you. I know you love him, but I can't help it."_ Kushina smiled and patted her head as she went over to Naruto's side. She gave him a kiss on the cheeks and said goodnight and left the room. Naruto looked to his side and saw that Sakura was still shaking.

"Sakura-chan, you alright?"

"One more thing Naruto..." Kushina's head appeared in their doorway. Sakura yelped and hid behind Naruto, shaking even more. "If you're going to do that again, I suggest you read Icha Icha Paradise Volume 9." Kushina's head disappeared. Naruto turned toward the still shaking Sakura.

"Are you alright?"

"That woman scares the crap out of me."

* * *

_The next day_

The next day, everybody got up bright and early and soon everybody was assembled at the gate. Tsunade was there to see them off. She handed Jiraiya a set of direction to Blood Gulch and soon everybody was off. It took 4 days to reach their destination. Tsunade was right. The canyon was only accessible to ninja. As they started to climb, Tira was forced to climb on the back of someone. Tira jumped on Zabuza's back, much to his discomfort and the snickering of Kisame which earned him a smack upside the head from Zabuza. Zabuza snickered as Naruto jumped on Kisame's back. They began the climb up the canyon wall. It took an hour to walk up the wall. They soon reached the top. They stood in awe at the sight below them...for some, that was easier then others. Naruto looked at the inside of the canyon. Tsunade didn't tell them the all the details of this place. Naruto could smell the blood that was spilled in this place.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura's voice called out to him and he snapped out of his musings. He turned around to see Sakura's concerned face. "Are you alright?" Naruto nodded.

"I'm fine, it's just that there's more to this place. I can smell the blood staining the ground and the spirits lingering here."

"Are you going to be okay down there?"

"I should. Let's go." Naruto climbed on Kisame's back and he started the walk down. Sakura watched him go, still worried about him. Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Ino.

"Don't worry. He'll be alright. He just needs to get used to the place." Sakura shook her head.

"But that's what I'm worried about. Naruto always get more...bloodthirsty whenever he catches the scent of blood."

"Don't worry. That's what we here for." Hidan spoke up. "If he goes out of control, we will get him in control." Sakura smiled.

"Thank you Hidan." Hidan messed with her hair in a playful way.

"Hiiddannnn." Sakura grumbled in a whiney tone which caused him to laugh then he started to walk down the canyon wall, followed by Sakura, and Ino.

Down on the ground, Jiraiya had already picked out a sleeping spot that was protected from the elements and everybody picked out a spot and laid out their tents and sleeping bags.

* * *

_Later_

"Alright Naruto. It's time to start training." Jiraiya declared. Naruto cheered. "Calm down brat and let's start with the basics. Start with chakra molding." Naruto nodded and put his hands in the ram seal. Naruto started to focus chakra and chakra started to surround him but something was wrong. Naruto's chakra was normally blue, but this chakra was black. Naruto stopped molding when he saw the looks of his friend's faces. They were shocked.

"What's wrong?

"Naruto-kun, your chakra is black instead of blue." Sakura told him.

"Really?" Sakura nodded and Naruto's face scrunched up in thought. "Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure, but the only way we will find out is by training with the chakra and see how it affects you." Naruto smiled and brought his hands up in a familiar cross seal and Jiraiya's eyes widened in panic.

"NARUTO, WAIT!" Jiraiya tried to stop Naruto but he was too late as Naruto shouted out his jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The canyon was filled with smoke as roughly 3,000 clones sprang into existence. Everybody, even Naruto, was amazed at the number of clones that Naruto created.

"Naruto, how-how did you do that?" Jiraiya asked, shocked. Naruto was shocked.

"I-I don't know. I was trying to create only 500." Jiraiya shook his head, clearing his head of the shock.

"I think I may have an idea. This kind of chakra may be much more potent then Naruto's regular chakra."

"I don't understand." Said Ino who was having trouble understanding the conversation due to the numerous number of Naruto's in the vicinity.

"Let me put it this way. Let's say that you have x number of ryu and 100 ryu is required to make Kage Bunshins. Naruto's new chakra is much more potent then his regular so now only 25/50-ish ryu is needed to make Kage Bunshins. Did you understand that Ino?" Ino took a moment to understand and she nodded, indication that she understood.

"Yeah, I think."

"Good, at least we learned something. Dismiss all of your clones if you would Naruto." Naruto nodded and dismissed all of his clones. After the last one poofed, Naruto was suddenly overcome by a mild case of exhaustion, but he recovered quickly. "Let's see Soul Edge." Naruto nodded and reached behind his back but when he grasped the handle, he felt something totally different then what he normally felt. "Something wrong Naruto?"

"Maybe, Soul Edge feels a lot different then normal." Everybody perked up at this and stood ready. Naruto took a deep breath and drew the sword and everybody tensed as they felt a small amount of Soul Edge's energy being released. Naruto stared at his sword. It changed. It was bigger, more organic-looking, and the eye color changed from purple to red. Naruto blinked. "That's interesting, if Soul Edge changed, then what about Nightmare?" Jiraiya knew what Naruto was thinking at this point.

"Don't even think about it Naruto. We'll save Nightmare for later." Naruto looked at Jiraiya getting ready to complain but the look on Jiraiya's face shut him up.

"Alright. What next?"

"Next, we'll do some light sparring." Zabuza stepped forward. Jiraiya looked at him. "I'm guessing you are volunteering?" Zabuza drew his sword as his answer. "Alright." Jiraiya stepped aside as Zabuza and Naruto took positions further away.

* * *

_Sakura's point of view_

Sakura couldn't help but feel worried as she watched Naruto stare down Zabuza. Naruto looked ready to kill as always. She didn't like this Naruto. The Naruto she loves is kind, compassionate, willing to sacrifice everything for his loved ones. This Naruto is a killer at heart. He wants blood and doesn't care who gets in his way. She noticed Ino sit next to her.

"How are you holding up Sakura?" The cherry blossom shook her head.

"Not good. I never liked this side of Naruto."

"Yeah, me too. This Naruto seems...foreign." Sakura nodded.

"I know what you mean." Finally, Naruto charged Zabuza. It was just basic sword fighting, Sakura noted, with neither wanting to get in depth this early in the fight. Sakura, however, noticed a change in Naruto's fighting style. He was more aggressive, more forceful with his attacks. Kisame tag Zabuza out 30 minutes into the fight. It was then jutsu's were getting involved. However, Naruto was able to evade all the water bullets that Kisame shot him and Naruto split a tidal wave in half and sent Kisame flying to the other end of the canyon just from the backlash. Jiraiya called it quits after that. By that time, it was getting dark and everybody called it quits for the day.

* * *

_Few days later_

During the few days that passed, Naruto was catching up with his training. Each morning Naruto would make a few dozen clones. Some would practice tree walking, or rather canyon walking since there wasn't any trees, and some would practice water walking on water the Kisame was kind enough to make. Other clones practiced summoning. The real Naruto would spar with Sakura with his _**Akumu no Me**_activated. Sakura, with the help of Soul Calibur, has gotten used to the massive killer intent coming from Naruto. The rest of the clones were sent to explore the canyon. So far they found a cave with a fresh water source and an underground cavern. Jiraiya had informed Naruto that he will able to turn into Nightmare tomorrow. You can imagine how excited he was.

_Nighttime_

Naruto sighed as he stared into the roaring fire. He couldn't sleep, not with the excitement of turning into Nightmare the next day. Sakura was fast asleep. Kisame was floating in the lake sleeping. Zabuza was snoring with Tira attached to him. He sensed Ino's chakra signature approaching from behind him and Ino soon sat down beside him.

"Couldn't sleep?" Naruto shook his head. "Me either." They stared into the flames with nobody talking. "Fire is beautiful isn't it?" Ino suddenly said. Naruto looked at her with a weird look.

"Where did that come from?" Ino chuckled.

"I just felt like saying that." There was another moment of silence. "I love fire." Naruto watched her as she talked. "I loved fire since I was little. I would always get in trouble for almost starting fires and I almost burned down the house one time. I was never alone because I had to be watched constantly. Even now, I still want to feel the fire on my hand." Here Ino reached out her hand toward the fire. Naruto quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it back. Ino chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Why are you so obsessed with fire anyway?" Ino sighed and put her head in her hands.

"I don't know. There's just something about it that fascinates me. The way it moves, the way it dances. It's like fire is alive. I can't really explain it. Do you know what my elemental affinity is?" Naruto shook his head, mentally guessing what she was going to say. "My affinity is fire. I was so happy when I found out that fire is a part of me." Ino chuckled a little. "You can just imagine the look on my parents faces when they found out. Since then, I've been learning fire jutsu's but somehow it's not enough. I can feel something in me that's yearning to get out but it feels like its not strong enough."

"How long has it been going on?"

"Ever since the Forest of Death. It started after I saw Sephiroth use that fire attack against Orochimaru. Since then, I've been feeling something in me, something that's trying to get out but I don't know what it is and it scares me." Naruto reached out and closed his hand around Ino's hand.

"Don't worry about it, Ino-chan. When the time comes, you'll know what to do." Ino smiled.

"Thank you Naruto-kun." The two blonde sat there watching the fire. Eventually, Ino yawned and left for bed with Naruto following shortly after.

* * *

_The next day_

The day has finally come and Naruto was ecstatic. Jiraiya regretted his decision of telling Naruto that he can turn into Nightmare the day before as Naruto tried to shake the pervert awake but even after Jiraiya pushed Naruto away from him, he still wouldn't let him sleep so he woke up to see Naruto's eager face. Jiraiya groaned and got up to see the others already woken up from Naruto's attempts to wake him. Jiraiya groaned, smacked Naruto upside the head, and got up to eat breakfast. Soon after everybody finished breakfast, everybody was seen in the middle of the canyon while staying a respectable distance from the happy blonde.

"Alright Naruto, go ahead and turn into Nightmare." Naruto didn't waste anytime in drawing Soul Edge and the familiar shadow covered Naruto. Sakura noticed that it seemed to take longer this time. The shadows dissolved and the sight that met their eyes caused them to widen in fear.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Behold the evil cliffhanger of doom.

Sorry for the long wait. Life came and took my free time away, along with a new story I'm writing. If you're interested, ask yourself this…can you handle intense smut? If you can answer that honestly to yourself. Pm me and I'll give you the directions.

I think I did pretty good on this chapter. As always, please read and review.

_**-Gnosismaster – with a little help from Slyfer101.**_


End file.
